Pokemon: Shattered Empires
by black angel 2011
Summary: Ash's life takes a turn for the worst, losing everything that he holds dear to him, with everything lost to him, he begins a journey towards revenge for his lost love. Ash meets up with Salvia who has escaped due to the growing danger within the walls of her palace, the two begin a fight for survival which will strengthen their bond.
1. Hammer Strike

**Pokemon: Shattered Empires**

_**Summary: **__A fragile peace has reigned for many years, but that is about to come to a screeching halt, tragedy soon befalls Ash as a massive conflict soon grips the Sinnoh Region, a princess soon comes to reality to turn against her father, it soon falls to Ash and Salvia to change the destiny of the world around them, with nothing to gain there is everything to lose as well._

_**Main Characters:**_

_**Ash: 21**_

_**Salvia: 20**_

_**Deceased characters:**_

_**Dawn: 20 (deceased) **__yes she is one of my favourite characters but this is part of the story._

_**Pikachu: 11 (also deceased) **__Heartless aren't I? Same as above._

_**Disclaimer: **__ Pokemon and the characters don't belong to me, they are the property of Satoshi Tajiri, please support the official release._

**Chapter 1: Hammer strike**

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><p>Ash kneeling on the ground wearing a suit with a black container in his hand, he looked up with great pride and took a deep breath, Ash's and Dawn's respective mothers were witnessing what was unfolding in front of them. "Dawn will you marry me?" A raven haired trainer asked his long-time girlfriend, presenting his expensive ring to the blue haired coordinator. Everyone in the room was silent, Ash wearing his suit waited for an answer as Dawn with her mouth agape looked at the diamond ring, "so Dawn, what do you say, want to be my wife?" Ash persisted with great expectations.<p>

Dawn who was wearing a pink dress looked at the ring and placed her hand over her mouth in great surprise, tears of joy streamed down her face, she turned to her mother who was the standing next to Delia, both hoping for an answer from the bluenette, "come on Dawn say something," Johanna told her daughter with a proud expression.

Dawn looked back, she removed her hands and looked down towards Ash and smiled, "yes Ash, I will be your wife," Dawn finally replied as she watched her love slip the engagement ring on her finger.

Ash stood up and embraced Dawn with the two mothers and Pikachu watching from the entrance of the room, "I have waited for this day for so long," Ash confessed while pulling back to looking into his fiancés bright blue eyes, "took me long enough I bet," Ash commented with a chuckle.

"Yes it did Ash," Dawn replied lovingly. The bluenette now on her tip toes, pressed her lips against Ash's to seal the deal, "I cannot wait to marry you Ash," Dawn chimed after pulling back from the kiss.

"Me too Dawn," Ash replied as he put his arms around his future wife, not expecting anything bad to happen, his life was heading in the perfect direction, he had Dawn forever, won a pokemon league, "you know everything has worked out so well, I have a beautiful woman, and now, I can focus on my job as a Champion taking on many challengers," Ash explained his goals to Dawn.

"Yeah, I know," Dawn replied happily, admiring her engagement ring.

"You know you two need to go out for the night to celebrate," Delia suggested with great joy.

"Yeah, there is this nice restaurant that you could take my daughter to," Johanna remarked after her best friend.

"Plus there is this amazing view Ash, it really is amazing," Dawn told Ash about the view.

Ash looked over to his partner pokemon who tilted his head and walked up the steps, "alright Dawn, get ready for a night out," Ash instructed his fiancé.

"Um Ash, I am already ready to go out tonight, I was kind of hoping that we would go on a date tonight," Dawn replied with a giggle. She grabbed onto Ash's arm and dragged him out of the house wanting to have a great night with her soon to be husband, ignoring the men rushing towards the harbour of the small town.

"Dawn, don't you think that this is quite odd?" Ash questioned the bluenette.

"What is Ash?" Dawn enquired.

Ash looked back with concern, "nothing Dawn, just overthinking that's all," Ash lied to his future wife. The two walked towards the town centre for their date together, 'I have a bad feeling,' Ash thought as he looked back wondering what was happening.

_(Arrowroot Town)_

A guard walked up to the king with a paper in his grasp, "sire, we have received reports that Littleroot Town is about to be attacked," one of the Sinnoh Soldiers told the king of the region, the man wearing a black suit approached the king of the region.

The king shook his head but there was nothing but a smirk on his face, "so it begins," the king announced calmly. The king walked towards the room at the end of the hall, "who is it?" he asked quietly not wanting to wake up his daughter.

Meanwhile Salvia pressed her ear against the door, dressed in a purple night gown, she tried her best to listen to the conversation, "it is the Unova forces sir," Salvia overheard the soldier talking to her father.

Salvia turned around and put her back on the door, shocked at what she had heard from the people on the other side of the door, "unbelievable, so this region is at war, starting with Littleroot," Salvia whispered as she gasped in horror at something she had remembered, a sudden chill ran down her back, "no Lady Dawn," Salvia gulped in shock, she quickly got to her feet and rushed towards the closet to leave the palace.

"Sire what about the princess?" one of the soldiers asked with concern.

Salvia froze to listen to her father's response, "she is weak, too kind and too gentle, I will be the last king this region ever sees," the king decreed.

"What, but I am next in line, he promised that I would be the queen of this region after my twenty first birthday," Salvia whispered while placing her best friend's attire on her bed, wondering what was going to happen, she remembered the time of peace that the region had enjoyed since before she was born, "so this peace was a fake peace, my dad intended to rule with an iron fist," Salvia said as she started to change her clothes.

"So what is the plan?" the general asked quietly.

Salvia approached the door to hear another response, "this is like a game of Go, we position ourselves until we capture our objectives, in other words leave Littleroot Town to its fate, we will push them back into the sea later on," the king replied not realising that his daughter was overhearing the conversation.

"But what about your daughter?" the general asked with concern.

"What about her? My sole concern is to consolidate my power to defeat the Unova forces, while keeping Hoenn and Kalos at bay," the King stated while walking down the hall.

Salvia pulled open her door slightly and watched her father and soldiers walking towards the war room, she waited to see what was going on, still in shock that her father would abandon towns in his own region, she walked slowly towards the distant room, tip toeing towards it not wanting to let others know that she is spying on her own father, "I will find out what is really going on," Salvia resolved.

Salvia continued down the hall, as she got closer she heard an Earth shattering roar, it caught the attention of everyone in the palace, "wait that sounds like Palkia," Salvia whispered as she made it to the room, she pushed open the door and peered inside to see a large white pokemon standing on its hind legs, the other pokemon, coloured blue and standing on all fours, "Dialga too," Salvia placed her hand over her mouth at the sight of the two mighty pokemon.

"Yes the Unova region is bringing Reshiram and Zekrom, Hoenn will have Groudon and Kyogre while Kalos will be using Xerneas and Yveltal," the general pointed out while he was looking up to the two legendary pokemon.

"That's right; each kingdom has two legendary pokemon of their own, as for my daughter, the promise I made two years ago, now stands for nothing, she doesn't have what it takes to lead," the king informed the general who shook his head in amazement. The two heard the door close behind them, the king suddenly turned around and approached the door, "there is a spy, find that spy and execute that spy," the king ordered his general angrily.

Salvia started running back to her room in fear of her father's command, she made it to her room and closed the door behind her, breathing heavily she jumped into her bed and placed the blanket over her head, she heard the footsteps approaching her room, "please, don't enter," Salvia pleaded, she breathed a sigh of relief as the two men rushed passed her room and towards the perceived spy. The princess pushed the blankets away and re-opened the door, she looked down the hall way to find that her father and his general making it to the main hall of the palace.

Salvia placed her hand on the door and pushed it open, looking back to see if anyone was nearby, she walked in slowly towards the containment area to find the two pokemon looking down at her, "how terrible, you two shouldn't be locked up like this," Salvia whispered, she frowned at the sight and started to wonder what her father's real intentions were, "also my best friend is in danger," Salvia admitted to the two powerful pokemon.

_(Flashback 5 months earlier)_

"You know Salvia, there is one thing I cannot wait for," Dawn told the royal with a hopeful grin, the two girls walked down the street of Arrowroot Town talking about Dawn's dream about the future she was wanting to have.

"What is that Lady Dawn?" Salvia asked her best friend.

Dawn looked up with a smile gracing her lips, "I have been going out with Ash for so long," Dawn pointed out with great pride.

"Oh that's right, you two have been inseparable for so long," Salvia stated with a grin.

Dawn nodded at her friends words, "yes that's right," Dawn acknowledged as the two girls continued down the road talking about Ash some more. Dawn started to smile think about the day Ash would finally ask her that one question, "I have always visioned Ash and I getting married one day, settling down and having a family together," Dawn admitted her thoughts to her friend.

"That sounds amazing Lady Dawn, you and Sir Ash, make a wonderful couple," the princess said while clasping her hands together. "Hey why not make your wedding at my palace, I want to be your bridesmaid," Salvia suggested while Dawn looked over to the look a-like fondly.

"Sure, I would be honoured, but that would upset my other best friend," Dawn commented as she approached the palace gates with her friend.

"Well I better get going, I have so much I need to do," Salvia stated as she entered the gates of the palace.

_(Back to Salvia)_

"It seems the spy has entered into this area," one of the guards commented as the door was pushed open with considerable force.

Salvia ran towards the back of the room where the crates were being stored, "I need to get out of here," Salvia whispered, thinking of a way to escape the situation she was in, she watched from around the corner to see the men looking for the spy not knowing that it was the princess. It was as they walked into the room next door Salvia took the opportunity to run to the exit, she looked at the two pokemon, "I will save you both, please wait," Salvia told the two pokemon with tears running down her face.

The two captured pokemon nodded and watched the princess leave the area, hearing the voices of the men approaching the young princess. "You two know something about that spy, I will find out what that spy wants," the king told the two pokemon as he rushed off towards the exit of the war room with a rampaging desire to kill the person that was checking the place out, not taking into consideration that the spy was his own daughter.

Salvia made it to her room and locked the door, "that was close," Salvia panted, feeling like her heart was about to jump out of her chest, she tried to compress the fear she was experiencing and the fact that her father was willing to dispose of her.

A loud knock was heard on her bedroom door, "Salvia, this door is locked, I want to see if the spy had entered your room," the King advised his daughter with as her heart started to race again.

"No dad, there was no spy," Salvia lied to her father. "Dad, before you go, you never told me what happened to my mother," Salvia questioned her father with a frown.

"Nothing that concerns you, now get some sleep!" Salvia's father yelled at his daughter.

Salvia froze at the mannerisms of her father, "he is hiding something, I will find out," Salvia resolved, she walked towards the balcony of her room and looked out towards the horizon. Salvia kept her gaze passed the palace walls, a sea of stars spread across the dark canvas with the half-moon imposing its dominance over the night sky, "I have to leave, I don't feel safe here," Salvia told herself as she looked down to see the guards keeping an eye out for the spy.

_(Littleroot Town)_

Ash and Dawn were sitting at the fancy restaurant enjoying their meal together, "you know Ash, six years we have been going out, I can only say this, it's about damn time you asked me to be your wife," Dawn chimed as she grabbed her dessert and started eating it. Ash chuckled as he placed an entire slice of cake into his mouth, "if there is one thing I need to learn, is that I need to learn to cook for an army," Dawn giggled before an explosion shook the ground around them, shattering the glass of the restaurant and knocking the couple to the ground.

Ash and Dawn got back to their feet and noticed that the dark sky was now illuminated by a fiery red smoke, "what, not now," Ash declared while helping Dawn back to her feet. Ash placed his money on the table and the couple rushed outside to see that an invasion force had entered the streets with a small army defending the town.

"Ash, our mothers, Pikachu and Piplup," Dawn gasped in horror before running off ahead of her fiancé.

"Dawn wait!" Ash yelled out before another explosion knocked him off his feet. He got back up and started to run towards Dawn's house, "why now?" Ash hissed as he ran down the streets, seeing trees knocked out of the ground and houses burning to the ground, Ash looked up to see three men from the Sinnoh Defence Force being slaughtered by what seemed like a Unova invasion force, "what Unova? But why?" Ash questioned perplexed at what was happening.

With no time to think Ash ran towards his future wife's house to see what was going on, Ash looked around the sky was reddened but the surrounding houses blackened by the fires of the opening salvos of war, "Dawn where are you?!" Ash yelled out, the ground continued to shake violently with buildings exploding into flames around Ash.

Ash rushed through the streets with his search for Dawn intensifying, the yelling of soldiers as the battle for the small town started to building in intensity, Ash looked around in search for Dawn. Before he could turn the corner to the next street a tree fell in front of him making the champion jump back to avoid the tree trunk from hitting him.

Ash looked around to see if there was another road, he looked back to see a group of men dressed in white approaching the street he was on, "all men find and capture any survivors," an officer told one of the soldiers.

With little time to think and the Unova soldiers approaching from the other side of the street, Ash ran towards the tree and climbed on the tree trunk. As he was about to get over the tree trunk an electric attack whizzed pass his head causing him to fall to the ground on the other side of the tree, "hurry we need to capture him," one of the soldiers told the other.

After landing heavily on his back Ash suddenly woke up with blood dripping from his left arm, he got up slowly in pain after the fall, "oh man that was not cool," Ash whispered, he rolled over and got up, he spotted more houses on fire and limped towards the wall, he placed his right hand on the wall and kept going, "this town is getting destroyed, where is the Sinnoh Defence force?" Ash asked in disbelief, scanning the town which was now in a shade of crimson.

Dawn was standing at the front of her house, engulfed in flames she watched in despair as it started to crumble to the ground right in front of her, "mom, Piplup!" Dawn started to cry, she fell to the ground and screamed out in agony as she had lost the ones closest to her.

Ash had made it to see Dawn looking at the house crying at what she had seen, "no, Pikachu, mom it can't be," Ash whispered in horror as he approached his fiancé.

"Ash, we lost our family," Dawn cried, she got back to her feet and embraced Ash.

A group of soldiers turned from one street spotting Ash and Dawn embracing, "there are survivors here!" a soldier yelled out.

Ash looked up and gritted his teeth, "oh shit Dawn we have to get out of here now," Ash told the blunette as he grabbed her right hand. The two started running avoiding pokemon attacks from behind them.

"Ash, are we the only ones to survive this sudden attack?" Dawn enquired as she looked up to see the sky now completely reddened from the fires of war.

"No time to answer, we need to get out of here," Ash shrugged off the question and continued towards the end of the street. The two kept running not daring to look back as more attacks kept flying passed their heads. They fell to the ground as more explosions rattled the area, the battles around the town became less intense as the opposing soldiers approached them, "great, the tiny defence has crumbled, come on Dawn," Ash got back to his feet, he helped Dawn back up and the two started running again this time into a random street.

Ash continued to run through the streets avoiding detection from the soldiers, "Ash where are we going?" Dawn asked in surprise, not knowing which direction her future husband was taking her.

"I don't know, everywhere seems the same to me," Ash hissed, he continued until he spotted the street heading out towards the exit of the small town.

Ash let go of Dawn's hand and the two started to exit the town, Ash and Dawn looked towards the destroyed town in shock, unable to take in what they had experienced. Saddened by what had happened the attack which had come along so suddenly forced them to flee from the home town of Dawn, "Ash, this is horrible," Dawn cried as she fell to her knees in tears, seeing her home town in flames as the final act of the sudden attack ended, "I have lost my home," Dawn cried.

Ash placed his arm around the bluenette and shook his head, "there was no time for the people to escape," Ash stated, he started to ponder about why, why did this happen? Losing his partner pokemon, his mother while Dawn had experienced the exact same emotions, losing the ones precious to her. Ash was shaking with anger, "this was cowardly," Ash hissed in anger.

"Yeah," Dawn replied in sorrow, she got back up and looked back towards the town.

Before the two could leave the area three powerful attacks seemingly directed at Ash caught the attention of Dawn, without thinking Dawn pushed Ash aside with all her might and took the attack for him, saving his life, injuring herself mortally. His eyes widened by what he had witnessed, seeing Dawn fall to the ground from the attack, Ash looked up and spotted three men with their pokemon at their sides, "no, not you too Dawn," Ash gasped in shock, he looked down and collapsed to one knee, 'no, I had only just asked her to marry me, this is a nighmare, it isn't real, I can't be real,' Ash cried, Ash picked her up and started running towards the next town.

"A-Ash," Dawn stammered as her strength started to leave her.

"No Dawn save your strength, I am going to save you," Ash said as tears started to fall from his eyes, he continued to run, not even thinking of looking back this time, not even stopping in case someone needed help, his sole focus was Dawn.

Dawn started to laugh lightly as she was being carried towards the next town, she placed her right hand on her left and pulled the engagement ring from her hand, "this is where I break my promise to you Ash," Dawn stated weakly, returning his ring and smiling at him.

"Shut up Dawn, I said I will save you," Ash stated before falling over on the ground, Dawn fell out of his arms and face up towards the stars, "Dawn!" Ash called out to her.

Ash got up and kneeled next to Dawn, "you saved me Ash," Dawn commented as the light in her eyes started to fade.

"No Dawn, stay with me!" Ash yelled out while Dawn grabbed his hand, she placed the ring in his hand and smiled softly at him, "come on," Ash tried to plead as he continued to cry out for Dawn to live.

"You know Ash….." Dawn started while turning her attention to Ash, she moved her left hand onto his face and caressed it gently, "I can still smile…knowing that without a doubt," Dawn's breathing started to fade and the colour on her face grew more pale.

Ash placed his arms around Dawn as he shook his head, "no stop it," Ash instructed Dawn.

"No Ash I will not," Dawn replied with a proud smile, "I will always love you," Dawn professed while her left arm dropped to the ground and her life had finally left her.

Ash still in shock, started to shake Dawn to bring her back, "Dawn, Dawn, you can't leave me," Ash cried as he tried unsuccessfully to bring her, "DAWN!" Ash cried out while collapsing on top of her, crying uncontrollably continuously calling for her. His grief was soon overcome by rage; he jumped back up and yelled out in anger, blood curdling fury making the pokemon in the surrounding area run away at the mere sound of it.

Ash picked Dawn up again this time walking slowly towards a tree filled with small blue berries, tears still streaming down his face and a million thoughts rushing through his mind, memories flooding back, 'Ash, wait for me,' Dawn's words echoed in his mind, thinking back to when she wanted to travel with him around the pokemon world, 'Ash, I promise to love you until the day I die, no forever,' Dawn's promise played back a thousand times.

Ash looked down at the lifeless body of the one he loved, "you fulfilled one promise, but I failed to fulfil mine," Ash whispered as he made it to the tree. Putting Dawn on the ground he pulled out a folded shovel from his bag, he started to dig the ground saddened by the night's events, "a promise to look after you for the rest of our lives and now look what happened," Ash said in a sorrowful manner.

After digging the hole in the ground Ash turned to the one he loved, "you were always my ray of sunlight Dawn," Ash stated while picking up the dead bluenette. Ash gently placed Dawn in the ground and looked at the ring that was returned to him, "This is yours Dawn, take it with you please," Ash whispered while slowly placing the ring back on her finger, he looked towards her face to see a smile still on her lips, Ash knelt down and kissed her gently on the lips, "I will never forget you Dawn," Ash promised as he walked out of the grave.

Ash pushed the dirt back into the ground burying Dawn and the engagement ring, feeling both sad and angry, and tears still streaming down his face, but fury that remained shackled inside. After finishing the job, Ash walked up to the tree and started to carve it with a small knife, "Dawn, my one and only ray of sunshine," Ash whispered as he carved the words of his love in the tree.

Ash started to walk away from the site and wondered to himself, what was going to happen next? He had lost everything, he looked up to see the clouds growing darker and the rain starting to fall, "great, even the skies are crying," Ash announced, he clenched his fists in rage, "I will make them suffer, for what they have done!" Ash announced his revenge for the world to hear. Ash looked back to the tree where he had buried Dawn, "Dawn, wait for me," Ash whispered while closing his eyes. In his vision he had seen Dawn smiling with the sun rising in the background, "no Dawn I will not be seeing you again, for what I am about to do, it seems like I will be going straight to hell, and the people that did this to you, I am dragging them down with me," Ash announced his intentions to Dawn's gravesite, he grabbed a knife and carved his and Dawn's initials with a love heart surrounding them.

Ash walked away thinking about everything he had lost during the night, his Pikachu, mother, Dawn and her family, it all seemed too much for the trainer, holding back his anger and sadness he continued to trudge towards the next town in the rain on his own. He had seemingly lost everything in a quick moment, everything seemed perfect but his world soon came crashing down around him, he fell to his knees and let out another powerful yell, "I will never see her smile again!" he yelled out smashing his fists into the grounds picking up water, he fell to the ground with tears streaming down his face.

_(Arrowroot Town)_

Salvia started eating her breakfast, but her appetite was a little off, she looked around the room as an air of unease filled the room, "Dad, I am going to go for a walk in town," Salvia announced quietly.

"Very well, but you need to take the personal guard with you," the king stated while walking towards his own guard, he whispered something into the guards ear.

Salvia noticed this strange behaviour and walked towards the main foyer, "no dad, I want to walk on my own, I have some things to think about," Salvia told her dad softly. Salvia walked towards the entrance of the palace and towards the main gates, "I will find out what is going on," Salvia promised herself as she walked towards the main street of the town.

The king looking out the window started to smirk at his daughter's growing independence, "she could be a problem, I don't want anyone being a threat to my power, eliminate her," the king ordered one of the guards without any form of remorse.

Knowing this Salvia looked back towards palace gates and started to run away from the town, not wanting to think about what her father was planning on doing, "I cannot believe my father would want me dead, all just so he could hold onto his power," Salvia whispered, she shook her head and started walking further away from the town on her own.

Her thoughts drifted to her best friend, who was most likely in the midst of the battle for the town, but as she continued to walk a heavy weight fell on her shoulders, as if some sudden sadness gripped her, 'why am I so sad?' Salvia asked herself, placing her hand over her heart, she could feel something guiding her. Before she could find out the answer she heard the guards from the palace in the shrubs, "oh no, I better get to the next city in a hurry," Salvia told herself as she started to run off towards the major city to the north of her home town.

"Call forth my secret weapons, The Seven Shadow Lords," the king instructed his men making them worry about the command.

"Sire that's a bit much just for one person isn't it?" the guard asked his king, he grew concerned about the king's desire to get rid of his daughter, the king turned to the young man who was shaking from the mere mention of the Seven Shadow Lords, the king glared at him and grabbed his collar, he cringed for a moment knowing that he was in strife from answering back to his superior, "alright sire the Seven Shadow Lords it is," the man submitted while looking back towards the palace walls.

"Oh good, we can finally feast on a battle, how I have waited to eat my enemies whole," one of the mysterious people proclaimed while one of the royal guards walked up to him.

"I see, so we are to hunt the king's daughter and have her killed, so how much money is the king willing to pay us? Because if he doesn't pay us, then we aren't going to do this job," one of the Seven Shadow Lords explained to the guard.

"Our skills are too good for the king, in fact we Seven Shadow Lords are more powerful than any of the kings and queens in this world," a young man commented while appearing in a black hooded cloak, "fine, Greed, you are to head out and deal with the princess," the male leader instructed the person calmly.

"Wait, where is the other Shadow Lord?" the royal guard questioned the six remaining shadows.

"We can't control him, his fury is uncontrollable, so we bind him in chains to make sure he doesn't hurt the people that pay us to do their dirty work," the leader of the Shadow lords replied calmly, he looked over to his group and nodded and vanished to get ready for the task, 'soon The Seven Shadows will change this world and we will rule it with fear on our side," the leader proclaimed while looking down at the king who was preparing the mission with Greed.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay yes the start of this chapter was a little malicious of me, but that will serve as a platform to the story. It is me trying something a little different as well, so I hope you enjoyed it, even though certain characters are some of my favourites it doesn't mean I should be nice to them all the time. The Seven Shadows are named after the seven deadly sins<strong>

**Next up chapter 2: There is no light.**

_Also this story is rated (M) there will be moderate violence, mild-moderate language, consumption of alcohol and some other stuff._

_I have done 2 stories (Almost Easy and Separate Roads) with the same formula, so I want to give this darker story a try. I am also typing the forgotten pieces, so please be patient, some of the chapter of the forgotten stories will be released in the new year, most likely first week into the new year.  
><em>


	2. There is no Light

**Chapter 2: there is no light.**

_**Summary: **__the pain sets in for Ash, he can no longer feel happy, it is then he finds himself in a situation where he discovers the truth behind the attack on Twinleaf Town, as the story of the Seven Shadow Lords comes to light._

* * *

><p>Ash walked slowly towards Sandgem Town, lonely, not even the wild pokemon were enough to change his mood, after losing everything in one night Ash walked through the grass swept fields and three lined path, he kept looking to the right hoping that Dawn was standing next to him and down to his left where Pikachu always used to be, 'why? Why did this happen?' Ash kept asking himself, hoping that none of the soldiers followed him.<p>

"I couldn't do a thing," Ash looked up to the clouds as the thunder continued to rumble, he clenched his fists in anger not only at the enemies that stole his closest companions from him, but at himself feeling like he let the people closest to him down.

The trainer wondered through until he spotted the lights from the lamps lighting up the small town, it continued to rain, getting closer to Sandgem Town Ash spotted a familiar group of men, "those guys, there were in Twinleaf Town," Ash noticed the men, they walked around casually, also hoping to find something, they walked passed the regional professor's lab as if they weren't interested in him.

"The army of the Seven Shadow Lords must be around somewhere," one of the soldiers proclaimed.

"Yeah, we need to avert the disaster of Twinleaf Town," the other solider replied.

"Shadow Lords? Just what it Is going on, they aren't even interested in Professor Rowan, and now they act like they weren't at fault," Ash whispered, he walked slowly approaching the soldiers from behind.

"They attacked their own town, but then again the Seven Shadow Lords are masterless, they only obey themselves," the first soldier commented.

Ash froze for a moment and listened in on the conversation, but his anger overcame him and he charged towards one of the soldiers, "you, you are to blame for the loss of my fiancé, you bastards!" Ash yelled at the soldiers.

"Calm down, we didn't even fire a single shot, in fact we were set upon and so was the town by the Sinnoh's defence force," the Unova soldier commented trying his best to calm the angry trainer.

"Liar, there is no way the Sinnoh army could destroy their own, that isn't possible!" Ash yelled as he pulled back his clenched fist and let loose a powerful punch full of his rage, the soldier fell to the ground cupping his face, Ash was tackled to the ground, "let me go now!" Ash ordered the soldiers, but they didn't heed his command.

"I am sorry sir, but we cannot do that, you need to calm down," the solider did his best to reason with Ash.

"I will calm down when you lot are dead!" Ash snapped back, trying his best to free himself.

Professor Rowan walked out of the lab to find that Ash was tackled onto the ground, "Ash calm yourself, these guys are here to help us," Professor Rowan also tried his best to reason with the furious trainer.

"Oh they did a fine job helping, if what you call help, I call I lost everything!" Ash announced as he continued to try and free himself.

"Oddish, use Sleep Powder on Ash," the professor called out a small blue pokemon with green leaves growing from the top of the pokemon's head.

"I want to get my revenge don't deny me of it!" Ash yelled as he began to nod off, his resistance started to weaken, he nodded off still muttering for Dawn, "I lost everything," Ash started to cry, falling asleep.

"Professor what do we do with this guy?" the soldier asked the professor calmly. Still recovering from the punch he had taken from the trainer.

"We need to explain to him the situation, we also need to find a way of calming him," the second soldier explained.

"Well then I will do all the explaining, since he does blame us for the loss of his fiancé," a man wearing a blue shirt and pants walked up to his soldiers, "you guys continue searching for the enemy," the commander enforced his command on the soldiers.

Saluting promptly, they stood at attention and in unison, "yes sir!" the soldiers replied.

"Professor Rowan, we had a lot of trouble finding the remaining survivors of the town," the commander regretfully announced.

"A regrettable situation, the Seven Shadow Lords aren't making it easy on us," The regional professor proclaimed grabbing at his moustache.

Another soldier appeared infront of the leaders, saluting promptly, "sirs the Princess of Sinnoh has escaped from her father, reconnaissance tells us she is being chased by one of the Seven Shadow Lords and they are heading towards Veilstone City," the soldier informed the professor and his commander.

"Send a small force to rescue the princess," the commander ordered his spy, he looked down on the sleeping trainer, "we might need to tie him up, explaining the situation isn't going to be easy," the commander repeated what the professor had said with a frown.

**(3 hours later)**

Ash woke up to find himself tied to a chair, he did his best to break free, but there was no use, he looked around, a table right in front of him and a plate of food, "ah you're awake, good, now I think we can have a chat," the commander stated while Ash glared at him, "I know, you want revenge, but let me ask you what price are you willing to pay? Will it be worth it? And most of all, what will you do afterwards?" the commander asked the young man.

"Why ask me those questions? It isn't like you lost everything," Ash made his retort, he sat back and turned his head away from the commanding officer.

"I see, so you don't want to talk, that's too bad, here I was going to ask you a favour," the commander replied, he grabbed the plate of food and pulled it further away from Ash, "you see, you want information, I can provide it, but you need to do something for the Sinnoh region," the man requested of Ash.

"Just leave in peace, I have no interest in helping anyone," Ash replied, Ash watched the commanding officer leave the room.

Outside the room the commander was talking to one of his trusted advisors, trying to come up with a plan to get Ash to help them, "sir, we cannot delay, the Seven Shadow Lords are hunting the Sinnoh princess down, we need to move her to Canalave City where she will be safe," the advisor explained the situation to her commander.

"Maybe there is something I can do," the commander remarked as he looked back in the room, he opened the door and placed the plate back on the table, "my name is Blake South, I am the commander of this small force, now, how about this, I untie you and you can eat, then you will let me explain the situation," the man known as Blake suggested to Ash who was still unwilling to cooperate.

"I am not hungry," Ash replied turning his head away from the man.

"Listen, unless you want to be force feed, you need to listen to what I have to tell you," Blake informed Ash as he grabbed the fork and placed it on the table, "I am not your enemy, but I can respect the fact that you don't want to be my friend, but right now," the man walked over to the chair and untied Ash's hands allowing him to get his food.

"Shut up, I am going to get my revenge on those who were responsible," Ash sneered at the commander.

"Young man, I know what it's like to lose everything, I know what revenge is like, it isn't worth the cost," Blake tried his best to explain to Ash, but the trainer pushed the plate aside.

"You have lost everything you claim?" Ash questioned the man not even wanting to look at him.

"You see my right hand, well this isn't even a real hand, I lost it while trying to get revenge as well as various other injuries I had suffered, I lost my family because of the people we are fighting against," Blake explained his situation to Ash, he moved the plate back towards the angry trainer, "I know you want to go out there and get revenge, but you need to follow my instructions," Commander Blake instructed Ash as he walked towards the window.

"Why should I? I still blame you for what happened," Ash answered back as he grabbed the fork to eat the food.

"If I were your enemy, would I be happy to give you food?" Blake questioned the trainer with a serious tone.

"No you wouldn't unless this food is poisoned," Ash snapped back at the soldier.

"Okay, we tied you up to keep you restrained, now eat the food and I will tell you everything about the Seven Shadow Lords," Blake ordered the trainer.

Ash ate the food, glaring at the commander, he waited for him to start the story, wondering what was going on, "you know, I want to know more about these people," Ash said with a much calmer disposition. He pushed the plate aside and watched the commander sit on the opposite side of the table.

"Alright, now that you are a little calmer, time for me to explain a little more to you," Blake explained to Ash, placing his hands on the table he pulled out a set of photographs of the people in question, mostly wearing black but with a dark aura around them, "these are the Seven Shadow Lords."

"Wait I only count six," Ash replied as he glared at the pictures.

"Yes, there is one we don't know about, our guess is he is being held back," the leader of the Unova forces replied, he moved a picture forward of a man holding a large bag of money, "this man is named Greed, at the moment this guy is chasing someone, we are doing our best to save this person, because from what we can understand this person is linked to problems within the Sinnoh Royal family," Blake explained the situation to Ash.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked looking at the other photos of the other members.

Blake pointed towards the picture of an attractive woman with long brown hair, wearing a red dress, "this woman is known as Lust, be careful with this one, she uses her good looks to attract men, her teammate is this person," the commander explained while pointing towards the male member of the group, "his name is Envy, they use each other's traits really well, while Lust uses her good looks to attract other people Envy plays on the other people's jealousy to their advantage, then it is all divide and conquer for them," Blake continued to explain to the trainer.

"Okay, so far you have only told me three of them, who is this person?" Ash asked while looking over to the large man, had a lazy expression on his face.

"Sloth, lazy but powerful, don't let this person's lazy demeanour deceive you," Blake informed the trainer. He looked over to the next person, "this is Gluttony, don't let his appearance fool you, he can eat vast quantities of food, but also has an appetite for destruction as well," and then towards the last photo after explaining the previous member to Ash, "this is their leader, his name is Pride, he can dent a person's pride and is rather partial on playing on a person's sense of pride as well," Blake explained the leader of the Seven Shadow Lords.

"Wait a second what Wrath?" Ash asked the commander.

"We know very little about this member, not even a picture of that member was ever taken, we suspect that Wrath is being chained up because his anger is too great for the Seven Shadow Lords to control," Blake replied with a concerned expression. Blake pulled the pictures into one pile, "did you know there are seven deadly sins, and that the people we were talking about are named after those seven sins?"

"So who is Greed chasing after?" Ash asked the commander with a frown.

"Princess Salvia," Blake answered, he looked up to see a shocked expression on Ash's face, "you know her?" Blake asked the trainer.

Ash pulled out a photo of him and Dawn, "this is a picture of me with my fiancé, but the person you are looking for looks exactly like Dawn," Ash replied while pointing at Dawn.

"A doppelganger, so that explains why you lost Dawn, the enemy thought they were killing the princess," Blake placed his hand on his chin, he walked up to the picture and grabbed it, "do you mind if I borrow this picture? Our men need the information to save the princess," Blake enquired, he walked out not even getting a response from Ash who was still upset with what was going on, 'poor lad, I hope he pulls through this,' the leader thought to himself after closing the door behind him.

**(West of Veilstone City)**

It had been five days since Salvia escaped from her confines in the palace, she looked back hoping that she wasn't being followed by Greed and his men, "I better not stop walking," Salvia tiredly reminded herself, she continued on, seemingly having not slept for some time, as she was walking the clouds in the sky grew dark and the first rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance. Salvia was on her own following the path that was lined by trees and grassy patches.

"Hmmm it seems like the beautiful young princess has been passed here," Greed looked around trying to find the royal, "she should know that once she becomes a target, there is no escape from the person's demise," Greed shrugged his shoulder with a shake of his head, he looked around again and sighed, "come on Princess make it easy on us, you don't want us to harm the people of Veilstone, don't be so greedy!" Greed taunted the princess as his troops remained silent.

Salvia peered through the tree line hoping that she was able to escape from the pursuers, "this is bad, I am now too tired to even escape," Salvia whispered to herself.

A man appeared behind her, placing her hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, "don't scream, we are here to help, we need to get you out of here," the soldier informed the princess.

The soldier lowered his hand and allowed the princess to breathe, "what do you mean? We are trapped," Salvia enquired as she pointed towards the people pursuing her.

"Come on out Alakazam," the soldier called out a humanoid pokemon with two spoons.

Upon seeing the light Greed approached the area and spotted the princess, "ah nice to see you princess, now you hand her over," Greed smirked at the soldiers, who were preparing to leave the area.

"And what let you assassinate this young royal?" the soldier asked the shadow lord, "not a chance, Alakazam, take us to Hearthome City," the Soldier told his pokemon, the group teleported away from Greed and his men.

Gritting his teeth in frustration the Shadow Lord kicked the dirt off the ground as it started to rain, "man Pride is not going to be pleased, oh well at least we have our puppet in the king," Greed whispered to himself, he turned back towards the city thinking of another plan.

"Pride knew you would fail this simple task," a woman approached her teammate.

Greed looked over his shoulder to see Lust approaching him, "whatever, why did I have to get slugged with a pitiful task of hunting down the princess, don't you think we already have enough to deal with concerning the king?" Greed questioned his comrade.

"Pride also told me, that if you returned without the princess, well I guess you don't want to know what Pride will do if he found out you failed," Lust informed the other Shadow Lord, she turned away from the angry man, "he told me don't show your face without fulfilling your mission," Lust instructed the man, the rain started to get heavier as the woman left with laughter making the other Shadow Lord much angrier than he was previously.

"Damn you Lust and Pride, just you two wait I will stab you both in the back then take lead," Greed hit the tree next to him, he looked over his shoulder to see what was on the horizon, "alright, we move out, we continue our chase of the princess!" Greed informed his men, recommencing the chase of the young royal.

Meanwhile in Hearthome City Salvia and the three soldiers appeared infront of the pokemon centre, "I need some sleep," Salvia informed the soldiers.

"I am sorry ma'am, but we need to take to the air and get to Canalave City next," the soldier refused the request of the princess, he recalled his psychic pokemon, "when we reach our destination, then you can get the sleep you need, even the food you require," the soldier assured the princess as his team called out four Salamence, "now get on Salamence we will fly on either side of you as well as behind to make sure you get there safely," the officer ordered the princess.

"Why do I need to be protected?" the princess asked the soldier.

"You are a marked woman, if the Seven Shadow Lords catch you, you will be killed on the spot," the soldier answered, greatly shocking the young royal.

"Seven Shadow Lords? I have never heard of them before," Salvia confessed still uncertain as to how to react.

"We just call them the Seven Shadows for short, the one that was chasing you is called Greed," the Soldier replied with a frown, the four dragon type pokemon took off leaving the surrounding people in awe at what was going on, "they also said that you needed to hand yourself over, sadly that would have achieved nothing," the man informed the princess who was looking down on the back of the pokemon she was riding on with guilt.

"So, giving up would have been for nothing, then what am I supposed to do?" Salvia asked the soldier with frustration, clenching her fists helpless in the situation.

"We will brief you on the situation when we reach Canalave, thankfully a friend of yours was able to help us find you," the soldier explained to the young royal.

"A friend, was that Lady Dawn?" Salvia asked with a more relieved smile, the soldier shook his head and looked away at the same time, "so it must have been sir Ash, but why so sad?" the blue haired princess enquired about the situation.

"We have received information from this Ash, that Dawn was killed in the attack on Twinleaf Town," the soldier replied much to the dismay of the young royal.

Salvia lowered herself as tears started to fall down her cheeks, "no, it can't be, why Lady Dawn?" Salvia cried as she hit the pokemon overcome with sadness, "why did you attack?" Salvia asked the soldiers as her sadness turned into anger which was directed at the soldiers.

"We didn't fire a shot we were trying our best to rescue the people, as well as reorganise the defence of Sinnoh, the attack came from within your armed forces," the Unova soldier informed the princess much the her displeasure.

"That's not true," Salvia snapped back, but she looked away from the soldiers and turned her attention ahead of the pokemon, "why would the Sinnoh army do that," Salvia cried as she hit the powerful dragon, but Salamence didn't feel the hit and continued to fly on the directed path.

"Listen, we will tell you everything, but you need to realise that the Sinnoh forces weren't exactly on the Sinnoh side at all, in fact we believe that the Seven Shadows were responsible for the attack on Twinleaf Town," the soldier explained while the four people continued riding the mighty dragon on the way to safety.

"Sir, what about Professor Rowan?" the soldier on the left asked his commanding officer.

"Well at the moment, I don't think he has any concerns about his own safety, but the enemy is currently after the princess," the leader of the group informed the subordinates as the princess listened in, still not able to believe in why this was all happening.

**(Near Jubilife City)**

Ash looked back again, still not believing he was released even after punching a soldier, "I still hate you," Ash reminded the commander, but the leader of the group remained calm and accepted it, "but to tell you the truth, I don't want to even see the princess, not after what has happened," Ash proclaimed as he started walking on his own towards the major city.

"I understand, oh there is one more thing, about Lust, she can shape shift into someone we love the most, be careful," Blake told Ash as he left for the city, "another thing, do not go to any other location other than Canalave City, we need to tell you more about the enemy," Blake informed Ash, the trainer ignored the commander and walked into the city, 'plus you aren't in the right frame of mind to tackle these foes,' Blake thought to himself concerned about the mental state of Ash.

Ash looked to the left again hoping that Dawn would be there for him, he instinctively put his hand on his left shoulder hoping that his partner pokemon was there, but as he did reality soon hit, he was alone, in the busy city that he and Dawn first visited on their journey together, pulling out the photo of Dawn and him spending time together both happy in the picture, "I lost something that I will never get back, those Seven Shadow Lords will be made to suffer for this," Ash announced his intentions, walking towards the western side of the major city.

Thinking back to what Blake was saying about the Seven Shadow Lords, 'remember Ash, these people don't care how many people are in the way, all they care about is twisting the world with their own desires,' Blake's words rang in Ash's mind, 'they also know how to injure a person mentally, at the moment, you are mentally injured,' Blake's words reverberated through his mind.

"Damn you Blake, what am I supposed to do?" Ash kept questioning himself as he looked around to find the people walking through the city ignorant of what was happening.

'Ash I know what it is like to lose people close to you, I lost my family because of those Shadow Lords,' Blake's words continued to play back in his mind, taking a deep breath Ash walked slowly towards the western exit of the city, 'don't throw away your life so recklessly!' the final instruction of Blake played back in the trainer's mind.

"I want to help people out, yet how am I supposed to help others out when I couldn't help the woman I love and her Piplup as well as Pikachu, mom and Johanna?" doubt filled Ash's mind, he looked back over his shoulder, his world completely shattered by the actions of an evil team, 'they did something that not even Team Rocket could do, they stole something that I can never get back," Ash reminded himself as he remembered the harsh reality that Blake stated, "once someone has died, I cannot bring them back to life," Ash told himself as he exited the busy streets of Jubilife city.

After exiting the city Ash walked towards where the sea started, he listened carefully as the waves crashed on the shore, four large pokemon flew over him, heading towards Canalave City, "I guess I better figure out what to do next," Ash commented as he started to think about the friendship between Salvia and Dawn, 'those two were really close friends almost like sisters, how will the princess take the loss of Dawn?' Ash questioned himself as he walked towards the bridge that led to Canalave City.

Heading to the destination, Ash could sense that something was about to happen, the trees started to sway in the sea breeze and the waters gently lapped on the side of the bridge, the Wingulls flew overhead where the flying pokemon shot through the air, Ash was dreading the meeting with the princess knowing that he had the difficult task of telling her what had happened, 'I have a long day tomorrow,' Ash thought to himself looking towards the sea where the sun was setting over the horizon.

* * *

><p><strong>The truth of the Seven Shadow Lords comes to light, but the reality hits both Ash and Salvia really hard, their meeting will be full of emotion knowing the truth behind the loss of the person closest to them.<strong>

**Next up Chapter 3: Short Lived Peace**

**If you are all interested, I have actually written 6 chapters to this story, that including the final chapter. so parts of this story have basically been written. also this will be the last chapter for the year for any story, I will be releasing chapters for the other stories some time in the first 7 days of the new year. **


	3. Short Lived Peace

**Chapter 3: Short Lived Peace.**

_**Summary: **__Ash and Salvia meet for the first time in years, but they cannot even talk to one another, but new information is shed on the situation, by an unexpected source._

* * *

><p>Greed was looking over his shoulder to see the small force he was commanding follow him, "hmmm these guys need to go, better ring up Blake," Greed whispered as he continued his path towards Solaceon Town. The soldiers he was commanding remained unaware of Greed's intentions.<p>

"Sir we are heading towards Solaceon Town," the soldier clad in black informed the leader calmly.

"Yeah I know, you guys wait here, I am going to look around," Greed replied as he moved into the town on his own, leaving his soldiers to set up camp. Greed looked over his shoulder thinking about how to get rid of the soldiers that have been keeping an eye on him, 'once I get rid of these losers I can inform Blake of the developments,' Greed thought about his mission.

Greed walked into the empty Pokemon Centre and walked over to the front counter and placed Nurse Joy into a quick slumber, he turned his attention to one of the phones and approached it, 'let's hope Blake isn't going too far in our plans,' Greed once again glanced over his shoulder to see if he was being followed.

Greed pressed the number in hoping to get a hold of his ally, "Greed, what are you doing, you aren't supposed to be calling in a Pokemon Centre, what if the enemy is spying on you? Blake blasted the Shadow Lord.

"Yeah I know, but the problems are getting worse, I cannot keep much contact," Greed informed Blake of the growing situation, "pretending that I am on their side still is proving difficult," Greed told the commander as he looked over his shoulder yet again, the empty pokemon centre was proving to be a difficult place to keep quiet in, since he also knew that Pride's men was watching him as well.

"Listen Greed, you are being foolish if you think Pride doesn't know what you are doing," Blake remarked much to the displeasure of Greed, "Salvia is heading to Canalave City," Blake informed his spy.

"You do realise that will not be a safe location for her, the other Shadow Lords already know where she is heading, they are sending a small force towards Jubilife City," Greed admitted to the commander.

"Thanks, but you need to be careful, your act can only last so long," Blake replied with a smile.

"Yeah I know, how about I pretend I attack Canalave City and make it look like I killed the princess that should be enough to throw Pride and his team off," Greed suggested a plan, "but first, I need the soldiers that I command out of my way," Greed whispered knowing that the soldiers were peering through the window.

"It will not be easy a young man is assigned to protect her, plus he is after your head as well as the heads of the other Seven Shadow Lords," Blake informed the traitor in the enemy, "you look like you are asking why, simple his fiancé was killed during the attack on Twinleaf Town, he told me he was being chased and the woman looks like the princess," the commander explained to Greed who was shocked to hear this news.

"What, you mean the guy that was being chased in Twinleaf, I was fighting one of the members of the Seven Shadow Lords at the time, you mean I accidently killed someone?" guilt sounded from Greeds voice. Glancing over his shoulder, "better go now, I will see you soon," Greed ended the call after spotting someone outside the Pokemon Centre.

Outside the medical facility a mysterious person with his back to the wall watched Greed exiting the facility, "I knew it Greed is a traitor, Pride isn't going to be happy," the person said before leaving the sight without being noticed by the man.

"Better hurry up, my cover was blown, they are going to chase after me now," Greed whispered to himself, the rogue member of the Seven Shadow Lords rushed off leaving his men behind.

**(Canalave City)**

Ash walked into the port city on his own, remaining quiet his thoughts were all over the place, ignoring the people who were walking through the streets with their shopping bags in hand, talking to one another ignorant of the problems that were growing in their very own region, 'Blake said there was a double agent in the Seven Shadow Lords, but who is it?' Ash questioned the leader's comments, flashbacks played back in his mind about the loss of Twinleaf Town.

"Excuse me sir, is your name Ash?" one of the soldiers asked the young man, "if so, the please follow me to the Canalave Hotel," the soldier instructed Ash quietly.

"Why?" Ash asked the man, glaring at him with a suspicious expression.

"We have someone that knows you, plus Commander Blake wants you to rest up, tomorrow you and the princess will be learning more about the Shadow Lords," the Soldiers informed Ash, but Ash turned away and walked towards the exit, "sir, you cannot leave, the orders of Blake are absolute, you will be getting the chance to meet the double agent tomorrow as well," the man informed the trainer but he ignored him as he walked back to the eastern exit of the city.

"I don't want to meet the princess," Ash replied coldly.

"Oh right, forgot, she looks like his dead fiancé," the young soldier remembered the words of his commander.

"I will be camping outside the city on my own," Ash proclaimed his intentions, he left the soldier wondering what he was going to do next.

"It must have really hurt him losing someone you love," the Soldier whispered as he watched the raven haired man running off into the distance through the busy streets of Canalave City.

The soldier walked back to the hotel on his own, he turned his focus to one of his comrades who was sitting on a chair in next to the door of a room, "so is he here?" the guard asked his friend, he nodded and looked out the window at the end of the hall, "so you didn't bring him here," he enquired with a frown.

"No, he ran off," the soldier replied with a solemn tone, changing his attention to the door, "is the princess still sleeping?" Placing his hand on his head the soldier wanted to know how the two people were going to follow their lives after the disastrous loss of the people closest to them

"Yeah, she is resting, but she also needs to eat as well, she hasn't eaten properly in four days, the doctor is concerned for her wellbeing," the guard informed his teammate with a concerned expression.

"And the mental state of Ash isn't looking much better, I fear he might lash out on our double agent tomorrow," the man explained while walking towards the stairwell.

Meanwhile outside Canalave City Ash had set up a small tent as well as a fire, sitting on a log he reflected on the past, his partner pokemon and family, Dawn and the adventures with her, he took a deep breath, still trying his best to digest what had happened, still asking why and what happened, "it was meant to be the happiest day of my life and yet, it was stolen from me," Ash started talking to himself.

"You know talking to yourself is a sign of madness?" a mysterious voice echoed from the woods behind Ash.

Ash immediately turned to find no one was in the area, "must be my imagination," Ash whispered as he turned back to the fire, seeing another image of him and Dawn, as the fire crackled he noticed the image of Dawn turning to him and winking, Ash fell of the log and with a startled expression he approached the fire, "Dawn?" Ash asked but the image soon vanished from sight, "I must be pretty darn tired," Ash commented, he got up and walked to the tent, he opened up and glanced over his shoulder, "it must be my imagination," Ash said as he entered for his night's sleep.

In the very early hours the next Salvia was getting up after a long nap, she stretched out her arms and looked out the window, in a pink nightgown the princess looked out towards the quiet streets of the city, she looked down to see a strange person walking around. After quickly getting changed Salvia snuck out of her room, which was being guarded, but the guards were sound asleep, tip toeing towards the steps she looked back once more hoping that the people guarding her wouldn't notice that she was gone.

The blue haired royal walked down the steps into the empty foyer, she looked around yet again hoping that she wouldn't be caught, she slowly walked out of the hotel and tried to find the strange person, "whoever that is, must know what is going on," Salvia reminded herself, she entered the streets not worrying about the danger of the Seven Shadow Lords.

"You know, you shouldn't be walking the empty streets at night on your own," a male voice emanated from behind.

The princess looked back to see a man with a dark smile, "who are you?" Salvia asked the strange man.

"Me? I am Greed, I quickly made my way here," Greed replied as he approached the royal.

"You were the one chasing after me, how did you know I was here?" Salvia forced the next question onto Greed.

"Simple, I am a double agent, I pretend to work for The Seven Shadow Lords, but in reality I actually work for you, I knew where you were coming, but unfortunately I am going to have a very difficult time explaining the death of your friend to her fiancé," Greed lamented the death of Dawn.

"You mean you killed my best friend?" Salvia growled at the Shadow Lord.

Greed lowered his head in shame before feeling the burning sensation of Salvia's hand making contact, "I deserved that, it was an accident, I was fighting to defend the town and one of the people I am pretending to side with was battling me with one of my pokemon, when my pokemon was tackled to the ground he let loose an attack that was intended for that pokemon, sadly the stray attack was the very same attack that killed your friend," Greed explained what had happened to Dawn.

"You are a Shadow Lord, those kinds of people hold no guilt over how many people get killed!" Salvia yelled at the person who was working for her, "if you seriously cared then why aren't you…" Salvia started to question the man, but as she was about to finish the question, he ran off with a concerned expression, leaving the young royal puzzled by Greed's action, "odd," Salvia whispered.

Salvia turned back to the hotel and walked slowly up to the large building, glancing over her shoulder once again, seeing that no one was wondering the streets on their own, "thought I saw someone," Salvia muttered quietly, trying her best to figure out what she was being told by the person she thought was her enemy.

Feeling conflicted because of what she was told, she walked slowly up the stairs, thinking about who her enemies were and who were her friends, "I don't know what to think anymore," Salvia uttered as she walked up to her room which the guard was still sleeping in front of.

Upon entering her room the princess walked over to her bed. Sitting down she placed her hands on her laps and started to cry for the loss of her friend.

Meanwhile Ash woke up and sat up, he opened the tent and peered out, the wild pokemon were running around with the hopes of finding food, he looked at the gates of the city and started thinking about what he needed to do, "maybe I am being selfish," Ash thought to himself as he continued to keep his eyes glued on the city.

While packing up his equipment Ash started thinking about what could have been, "if only I was stronger," Ash berated himself.

"You know beating yourself up will not bring the people closest to you back," the voice sounded from the forest again.

Ash quickly turned around and found that no one was there, "who's there? Who are you? Show yourself!" Ash demanded quickly, but no response was given to him, "great now I am hearing things," Ash muttered with frustration, feeling like he was being watched by someone, he walked to where he thought the voices were coming from, he pushed the shrubs aside to find that no one was there, "where are the voices coming from? The only person here is me," Ash hissed as he tried to find the person telling him all this stuff.

Ash looked back and spotted an image of someone standing on the spot where he was packing, "hey you," Ash called out, but the human shaped figure ran towards the city, he gave chase to the person entering the city at the same time, he stopped and grabbed a person by the arm, "excuse me did you see a person run by here a second ago?" Ash asked the citizen of the city.

"No, hardly anyone is awake," the man replied, Ash let go of the arm and let the man walk by.

"Is my mind playing tricks on me? Is Blake right? I am not in the right mentality to even help myself out?" more questions flowed from Ash's mind and out of his mouth as the city started to wake up, before Ash could start walking back to his camp he spotted the shady figure again, calling out to it the figure ran towards the bridge midway through the city, Ash ran to the figure until it vanished in front of the library, "was it leading me here?" Ash asked himself, he walked inside to find only a few people inside reading.

"Alright I will be making sure I get all the information…." Salvia walked into the library and immediately stopped upon seeing Ash.

The two friends turned around forcing an awkward silence between them, they each tried to say something, but no words would sound from their respective mouth, Ash turned around and walked towards the next floor hoping that the princess would leave the area, "what are you doing here?" Ash asked coldly.

Salvia remained quiet unable to answer the question, her efforts to make a response was all but useless, turning around towards the door she started walking to the exit, "I-I….heard about what happened," Salvia replied rushing out the door, leaving a shocked trainer shaking in anger.

Salvia walked towards the docks looking out to sea, she was still lost as to what to say to the visibly upset trainer, placing her hands next to her she started to think about the friendship between her and Dawn. "We both lost someone we care about," Salvia whispered feeling the wind whip her long blue hair around.

"Listen, you need to go out and talk to her," one of the soldiers informed the trainer.

"No, I don't feel like it," Ash replied with a saddened tone.

"She knows what happened to her, don't let her appearance prevent you from doing what is right, she lost her best friend too," the man informed Ash, but the sentiments were ignored, Ash walked towards the centre of the library and took a seat, the solider approached Ash and turned the chair around, "listen you little bastard, bad things happen, you cannot let that drag you down," the man growled at the young trainer who was looking at the ground with disdain.

"I know, but she looks like her," Ash stated with a painful expression.

"That might be the case, but the princess is a different person," the comforting soldier continued to tell Ash what he needed to here.

Ash got out of his seat and walked towards the exit, "fine I will talk to her," Ash replied with a slight hint of disdain. Upon exiting the library, Ash scanned the area to find Salvia was sitting on the nearest dock, he slowly approached the docks, scratching his head and taking a deep breath at the same time, 'why did this have to happen, now I need to talk to Dawn's look-a-like,' Ash started to complain to himself about even talking to Salvia.

"I just wish I knew what was going on," Salvia whispered as she heard the footsteps of someone approaching her, "you know Ash, your wedding was supposed to happen at the palace," Salvia informed Ash without even taking a glance back.

"The first I heard of it," Ash replied quietly, he sat at one side of the docks not wanting to make eye contact with the princess, Ash looked down at the water, thinking about what he had heard, "so you found out about what happened to Dawn," Ash enquired solemnly.

"Yes, I found out yesterday, I was being chased by someone by the name of Greed," Salvia replied, looking down at the water, taking the time to think about what Greed had told her.

"He is one of the Seven Shadow Lords, they are responsible for what happened," Ash clenched his fists, his blame directed at the Shadow Lords.

'How can I tell Ash that one of them is on our side?' Salvia asked the trainer, "there is information that we need to know, after we get the information," Salvia started as she stood up to turn to the library.

"We can make a plan for the next move from there," Ash replied, waiting for the princess to leave the docks, still not wanting to look at the young royal.

"I lost my home Ash, I cannot go there anymore, because I don't feel safe there at all," Salvia informed the trainer much to his shock.

Ash finally looked over his left shoulder to find Salvia walking back to the library, he moved his hands in front of him and stared at them for a moment, "she has also lost her home, and I have lost everything," Ash whispered to himself, slowly getting up Ash dragged his feet across the pier as he made his way back to the library.

Looking down from the third floor window of the library, Greed was watching Ash walking towards the library, "you know what will be the difficult thing, telling him I am on his side," Greed informed the soldier.

"Well you are a Shadow Lord after all, you cannot expect him to be so forgiving," the soldier retorted as he also looked out the window to see Ash and Salvia walking back but separated from one another.

Greed walked towards the table and grabbed a seat, he looked at the photo and frowned at his own actions, "I know the Shadow Lords don't know what it's like to be guilty, but now I have a small idea of what it is like," Greed stated thinking about his own actions in Twinleaf Town, "if I knew that there were innocent people at the edge of the town, I would have held back my attack," Greed remarked quietly as he heard the door opening.

"You see Greed that is what guilt feels like, you lament your actions, yet you have no idea how to make it up for the people you have hurt," the soldier replied with a smile.

"Truth is, I don't know if I can make up for the errors I made in the past," Greed placed the picture in his pocket, he took a deep breath and waited for the barrage of abuse from the trainer, "listen if that man starts yelling at, don't stop him, I will just have to take it," Greed informed the soldier calmly knowing what was about to happen.

"Of course," the soldier replied with a smile.

Ash walked into the room and spotted a familiar face, suddenly a memory appeared in his thoughts the picture he had seen in Sandgem Town, of one of the Seven Shadow Lords, his anger soon overcame him he rushed up to Greed and grabbed him by the collar, "how dare you show your face here!" Ash berated the Shadow Lord, picking him up off the chair Ash pushed him against the wall with Greed looking away not wanting to see the anger being vented at him, "it was your fault what happened in Twinleaf Town!" Ash yelled out while pulling his left fist back preparing to punch Greed.

"It was an accident, I was actually defending the town, when one of my comrades attacks me and my pokemon," Greed tried to explain himself.

"Nice story, you were still there! Oh it isn't like bastards like you to care about people getting in the way!" Ash continued his anger while punching the Shadow Lord with a vicious left hand, Greed just took the hit without retaliating, "you killed my fiancé, my mother, Pikachu, Johanna and Piplup! They did nothing to you!" Ash yelled out before hitting the Shadow Lord again with another left handed punch.

"I know it isn't much of a consolation, but I am sorry, I will try to make it up to you and the princess somehow," Greed stated with a sigh, taking another punch from the angry trainer.

"I don't want your pity, all I want back is the ones you took from me," Ash started to cry, letting go of his grip, Greed cupped his face trying to cover up the pain he was in.

Greed placed his right hand on Ash's left shoulder, "bringing people and the ones closest to you back is impossible, once a person or pokemon die, they cannot be brought back to life," Greed answered Ash's request, "now please sit down so I can give you and the princess the information you need to know, Blake informed you about the Shadow Lords, but he didn't tell you about the goals," Greed told Ash and the princess as they both sat down, Ash now feeling more composed, but still angry about what had happened.

"Alright tell us everything, I still need to get my revenge on you and the other Shadow Lords," Ash retorted feeling visibly shaken up after he vented out his rage on Greed.

"I am actually a rogue of the Shadow Lords, I work as a double agent, I provide false information for the Shadow Lords while I give proper information to Blake and to people like you," Greed started with his mission, "albeit I am after a profit, such is my nature," Greed smirked.

"I know, you embody one of the seven sins right?" Salvia asked the Shadow Lord.

"Yes," Greed replied to the princess, "now back to their mission, you both know that the Shadow Lords don't care how many people get in the way, but that is only part of it," Greed pulled out a map of the Sinnoh Region, he showed them the attacks on Towns and Cities, "you see everything has a centre right, here is the centre," Greed pointed to the part of the map.

Salvia placed her hands over her mouth, gasping in shock at what was being revealed to her, "Arrowroot Town?" Salvia questioned Greed, she got up and stepped back, falling to her knees and now visibly shaken up, "no it cannot be, why my palace?" Salvia started to asked the Shadow Lord.

"Sadly Princess, that is only part of the problem, your father the King is actually a puppet of the other Shadow Lords, to make matter worse, their mission is to destroy the kingdoms of the world and rule the world with Arrowroot Town as the centre," Greed explained the goal of his former comrades to Ash and Salvia.

"Wait, so why aren't you following that goal?" Ash asked glaring at the Shadow Lord.

"Well, let's just say we had a conflict of interest," Greed replied while rolling up the map of the Sinnoh region, "my mission was a little different to them, I decided it would be best to protect life, not destroy it," Greed answered Ash's question, but it still wasn't enough to convince Ash. Before Greed could make another comment a powerful explosion rumbled through the streets causing people to scream out in horror, "oh no they're here, you two need to leave this place," Greed rushed out the door, getting ready to fight the enemy.

"I am not going anywhere!" Ash yelled at the Shadow Lord, following him out of the room and towards the explosion.

Outside Greed was standing near the bridge looking around, "my, oh my well if it isn't our little traitor," a female voice emanated from the smoke, "you hear that Greed, the sound of screaming people running for their lives is music to my ears," Lust appeared from the smoke as another person walked out.

"So it has been a while, we have here, Lust and Envy, sorry for ditching you losers, but I certainly have no interest in fighting for Pride anymore," Greed smirked at his foes.

"Stop right there, perfect, you three are in the same place at the same time, now I will deal with all three of you at the same time," Ash stood at one end of the bridge, preparing to get involved in the fight.

"You Idiot, I told you to leave, I will meet you and the Princess at the decided destination, now go, while I hold these bastards back!" Greed ordered Ash.

"I am not leaving!" Ash snapped back, but before he could walk across the bridge, Greed called for one of his pokemon to destroy the bridge preventing Ash from getting across, "why?!" Ash yelled out in anger, questioning the actions of Greed.

"You are in no condition to fight, leave now with the Princess," Greed instructed Ash, this time focusing on the foes ahead of him, "I promise I will make up for my actions, but I cannot do that if you or the princess get killed," Greed confessed his intentions to Ash with the princess listening in as she approached the trainer.

The two watched Greed and his pokemon charging in for the fight, the angry Ash still wondering what to do next, he hesitantly turned towards the ships with Salvia running next to him, getting to one of the ships as the explosions of the battle flooded city, "great, when I feel like I was getting the chance to get payback, the person I thought was my enemy is helping us escape, I am so unreliable," Ash whispered to himself.

"Come on Ash, we need to escape, we can fight when the time is right," Salvia informed the furious Ash, he punched the railing as the soldier watched the two get on the ship, "soldier why aren't you getting on the ship?" Salvia asked the soldier.

"This is where I need to be, Ash Ketchum right? You stay be the side of the princess," the soldier ordered the trainer, as the ship was starting to embark on the journey to the next destination, it was rocked by another powerful explosion, slowly making its way out of the port as the violent battle escalated on the eastern side of the city.

Ash hit the ship's railings frustrated at not being able to do anything, Salvia watched Ash hitting the railing, "I cannot do anything!" Ash yelled helpless with the situation, "and now I am stuck," Ash turned to the young royal who was fearing what Ash was going to say next, "baby sitting you," Ash pointed his finger to the blue haired royal.

Salvia now feeling a little upset with Ash's comments, "you know, I can look after myself," Salvia retorted with sorrow, the ship slowly making it out of the docks and eventually out towards the open sea, "it isn't like I asked you to look after me," Salvia informed Ash, but also knew that there was nothing they could do about the situation.

Ash looked over to the scene of the battle where they were forced to flee, "I will still get my revenge," Ash announced to the princess, walking passed her as he did he leant in and whispered into her ear, "don't get in my way," the cold whispered made the young royal shudder in fear.

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><p><strong>Being forced to flee from a battle, Ash and Salvia must find a way to get along. With Greed fighting on their side to atone for his sins, how will his intentions help bring down his former comrades?<strong>

**Next up chapter 4: Ghosts of the present.**

_**The romance between Ash and Salvia isn't really all that important, but it will be a slow developing thing as the story continues, but it will start off one sided sometime in the story.**_

_**AN: there is the possiblity of some major delays in the release of future chapters, the big reason behind this, being in South Australia, i live in a wildfire prone area we are heading into a very dangerous few days, so if things get pear shaped and there is a high likelyhood of it, then the releases might be delayed beyond the next three chapters of this story an almost complete third chapter of Almost Easy 2 and a promised closing to Blaze and Glory.**_

_**I appologise in advance for not keeping my word on this, but man it is stinking hot where I live at the moment.**_


	4. Ghosts of the Present

**Chapter 4: Ghosts of the present.**

_**Summary: **__Ash and Salvia have escaped from the starting fight, but as they reflect back on the past, they receive an unexpected visit by someone's spirit, who could it be? And what does this spirit want with Ash and Salvia?_

* * *

><p>"You know that when I leave here, I will be planning to destroy the Shadow Lords," Greed taunted his former comrades with a smirk, he charged towards Envy, tackling him to the ground, he waited for the Shadow Lord to get back up, raising his right fist, then punching him with all his might, "personally, you were the one I hated the most, talking with that jealous tone, in fact, you really pissed me off," Greed admitted to Envy, kicking the Shadow Lord making him roll over in pain.<p>

"You hated me? It seems like you were the one jealous of me," Envy slowly got up grasping his left side, panting as the former member started laughing at him, "what is so funny traitor?" Envy asked the traitorous member of the Shadow Lords.

"I wasn't jealous of anyone, in fact, I hated the fact that all of you were fools, but I guess there is something I need to confess," Greed answered Envy as he charged again towards Envy, "I have been working for the princess and she didn't know it, in fact, I have been feeding the enemy with information on your plans as well as giving you false information," Greed admitted to Envy as he stared in shock, flinching before being decked once more, "I made sure that your most recent plans failed, all I wanted was to atone for my sins, yet, that will not be an easy task," Greed confessed, thinking about Ash and Salvia who were getting further away.

"Oh right, you killed someone important to them, you grasp at the straws, saying it was an accident right, you forget, we don't feel guilt that makes us the perfect soldiers in this world," Envy replied causing Greed to step back, the injured Shadow Lord rushed towards him, pushing him towards the wall as the battle for the city continued, "in fact I am glad I was the one that caused the accident, seeing people suffer after they lose someone important to them is always exhilarating," Envy admitted to Greed, punching him continuously causing parts of the wall to crumble.

Greed placed his arms over his face to cover the flurry of punches, bleeding from the corner of his mouth, he smirked at the Shadow Lord, cleaning some of the blood away he glared at the former teammate, "you know something, I bet you are really pleased that the person you saw earlier isn't here, because if he heard what you just said, I don't think anyone would have stopped him from destroying you, basically I did you a favour by saving your pitiful life, next time, I will just let him hear what you said," Greed explained to Envy his next intentions, laughing at his foe.

"Envy we are pulling back," Lust informed her teammate.

"Well Greed, it seems like you got lucky," Envy remarked as he turned away from his former comrade.

A soldier limped up to Greed who was watching Envy leave the city, "should we follow them?" The soldier asked his ally.

"No, they would be leading us into a trap," Greed walked over to the destroyed bridge, he turned his head at the horizon, "it was a quick warning attack, they are planning something big," Greed whispered as he start to think about Ash and Salvia who were on the ship. "I hope those two are alright."

**(On the ship)**

Ash stood at the front of the ship as it continued to sail towards the mystery destination, Salvia stood in the background shivering from the cold, Ash glanced over his right shoulder and then turned towards the horizon, "you should head inside," Ash informed the princess.

"What about you? You should be getting back inside," Salvia enquired, but Ash ignored her and continued to look out into the distance.

Salvia started walking back into the cabin, leaving Ash to keep staring into the distance, "wait, there is one thing I want to know," Ash called to the young royal.

Salvia turned around, wondering what he was going to say to her, "what's the matter?" Salvia asked softly.

"Greed, he said he was actually working for you, how long have you known about that?" Ash asked the bluenette.

Salvia took a deep breath, looked at the ship's deck and clenched her hands, "since this morning," Salvia replied, she walked into the cabin leaving Ash on his own, looking over her left shoulder once more she started to feel more concerned about the mentality of Ash. Walking into the main foyer Salvia took one more look at Ash, he was still standing at the front of the ship looking into the distance, "he is going to catch a cold," Salvia whispered to herself showing even more concern for him.

The chilling wind picked up as the dark clouds started to roll over the ship, Ash looked up to see a few snowflakes starting to fall on the ship's deck, "I know who they are, but what are they?" Ash asked himself, thinking about the shadow lords that he needed to face, 'it doesn't matter, they stole something that can never be brought back,' Ash thought to himself, not knowing of the concerned young royal standing at the entrance, watching him ponder about his next move, "but then there is Greed, just what does he want?" Ash asked himself crossing his arms he thinking about why Greed was fighting on his side.

'He is thinking too much, he needs to relax,' the princess thought to herself as she turned around to walk to her room, 'the rooms aren't perfect, but they are adequate,' the princess thought to herself thinking about what was happening to her father, "dad, you don't seem to be yourself, why?" Salvia asked herself, remembering what it was like years before the escape from the palace.

Salvia remained on the bed thinking about what her next course of action was going to be, Salvia fell back onto the bed with her arms covering her eyes, "it all happened at the end of last year, that was when things changed," Salvia commented, Salvia put her hand in her left pocket and pulled out a picture from her royal gown, 'just what made him change this much?' Salvia asked herself as she looked at the picture of her and her father smiling at the camera.

Salvia shot up upon hearing a knock on the door, placing her photo back into her pocket she looked over at the door, "Salvia, we need to get some winter clothes," Ash called through the door.

"I know, I will do that as soon as we dock," Salvia replied, the princess walked to the door and fell back on it, pulling out the photo again looking at it, "you know, my father changed last year, I have no idea why," Salvia informed Ash as he stood at other side of the door.

"I have an idea what happened, it must be the Shadow Lords who did it," Ash retorted but Salvia continued to stare at the photo not taking any heed what Ash said, "but what I don't get is Greed," Ash thought back to his actions against one of the Seven Shadow Lords, "did I over react?" Ash asked the princess, feeling guilty from his own actions.

"I don't know Ash, we both lost Lady Dawn, I lost my mother over a year ago, since then my father changed," Salvia answered Ash as she told him about the loss of her own mother, "he became less like the father I love and more of a man more concerned about consolidating power, even going as far as wanting to kill me," Salvia explained her father's recent behaviour.

Ash fell back onto the door, listening to his friend's words, "you know, after hearing you talk, all I can still think about is getting revenge," Ash replied while sitting down, grabbing a photo out from his pocket, seeing the smiling faces of him and Dawn, "in this picture, I was at my happiest, they took that from me," Ash looked at the photo not even making a smile.

"Can I see?" Salvia asked softly.

Ash placed the picture under the door, sliding it through to show the princess, in return Salvia, they each grabbed the respective photos and stared at them for a moment, "you seem happy," the two pointed out in unison, they continued to look at the picture for a moment, not daring to crack a smile.

Ash glanced out the corner of his eye and spotted a shadow flying across the hall, 'what was that?' Ash asked himself as the shadow vanished from sight.

"We are both alone at the moment, so I guess we can both try to help each other out," Salvia tried her best to comfort Ash.

Ash stood up and scanned the area, he started walking to his room, thinking about the picture he had in his left hand, the air inside the hallway started to grow colder, even though the heating was on the raven haired trainer spotted a human shaped figure at the end of the hall, standing, "excuse me, who are you?" Ash asked the person, but the figure never answered, standing on the spot leaving the Kanto native confused as to what to ask next.

Ash walked up to the ghostly figure, but as he got closer it moved further away, "hey you stop moving!" Ash called to the figure, he started running, causing the apparition to move faster, Ash quickly stopped as the figure passed through the wall. Now shaken up completely he stepped back slightly realising what he had just seen, he looked in both directions seeing nothing, he looked back towards Salvia's room also seeing nothing, the area heated up slightly, leaving Ash perplexed, "I think I need some sleep," Ash placed his hand over his forehead, walking towards his room with thoughts of what he had seen.

Resting on the bed, the words of Salvia played through his mind, what she had lost and remembering what he had lost at the same time, he shut his eyes, falling asleep moments later.

**(in his dreams)**

The fires of the battle raged on in Twinleaf Town, Ash was holding Dawn's hand running through the fiery scene that was Dawn's home town, escaping from the small skirmishes. "Come on Dawn, let's go!" Ash yelled out trying his best to run but felt like he was going nowhere fast.

"Ash, help me!" Dawn yelled out as flames engulfed her, watching in horror as his mother, Johanna, Piplup and Pikachu were engulfed in the same fires.

"No, Dawn, Piplup, Johanna, Pikachu, mom!" Ash yelled for the closest ones to him, felling to his knees started hitting the ground, frozen in place he saw a set of feet standing in front of him, shadowy at the same time he tried to move, but was unable to, "stay away from me," Ash demanded but the figure got closer towards him.

"Oh poor thing, you have lost everything," the shadowy shape taunted the trainer.

Ash looked up to see the person smirking at him grabbing him by the throat, "let me go!" Ash struggled, he felt the grip tighten around him, he placed his hands on the wrists of the man, "why!" Ash continued to gasp for air.

"It was your fault," the person replied.

"No, it wasn't," Ash replied as his grip started to weaken.

The man finally let go and vanished from his sight, Ash now coughing looked around, seeing his partner pokemon and Dawn with her Piplup standing in front of him, "why didn't save us Ash?" Dawn asked the trainer with a frown, she turned away and left Ash.

Ash got up and started running towards Dawn calling her name multiple times but to no avail, she looked back and shook her head, "you're so unreliable," she informed Ash, before vanishing.

Ash stepped back in horror at what he had heard, "Dawn!" Ash called out to her.

**(Back in reality)**

Ash sat up, trembling in fear, moving his hands, he stared at them for a moment, visibly shaking from his nightmare, he heard a knock on the door, the loud sound caused the trainer to jump in terror, "who…who is it?" Ash asked the person at the door.

"It's the princess, I am returning the photo," Salvia replied. Ash walked towards the door, unable to prevent himself from trembling, he placed his hand on the door handle, shaking violently, Ash opened the door to find Salvia was standing at the door with the photo in hand, Salvia was quick to notice Ash shaking and sweat rushing down his arms and head, "are you alright?"

Ash now trying to say something, but was unable to, he pushed Salvia back towards the wall and rushed away from her, "Ash!" the princess called to the man, she noticed the picture of her father and her on the ground, kneeling down to pick it up and looked up again, "what happened to him?" Salvia asked herself picturing the sweat that was running down his arms and the trembling that Ash was showing, "he was shaking pretty badly, and not only that, he was sweating heavily too," Salvia whispered.

A man with short blonde hair peered from his door, showing concern for Ash, "Excuse me, are you his friend? I heard him yelling a moment ago, I was trying to knock on the door to see if he was alright, but he didn't open the door," the man replied with an anxious tone, without getting an answer he watched the young royal running off to get to Ash, "I guess so," the man replied to his own question.

Salvia ran through the hall to meet up with Ash, "he was suffering from a nightmare," Salvia whispered, as she remembered seeing his expression, 'he had a fearful expression, I haven't never seen a person look so scared in my life," Salvia remarked as she looked around.

Meanwhile Ash was in the bar with a shot glass in hand, staring at it for a moment, the glass shock as the clear liquid inside the glass started to spill out, 'it was my fault,' Ash thought to himself as the nightmare started to playback in his mind, he picked up the glass and drank the liquid inside, taking an immediate hit from the contents.

As Ash poured in another glass full Salvia barged in and spotted him preparing to take another drink, "Ash stop this!" Salvia demanded running up to him, and snatching the glass and the bottle from his hand, "getting drunk will not help you in this situation," Salvia informed Ash, placing the bottle on another table.

"Leave me alone," a slightly drunk Ash replied, he hit the table as tears started to flow down his face, "it was my fault Dawn was killed," Ash confessed but the princess didn't take heed in what he said.

"Ash, it was a nightmare, it wasn't real," Salvia tried to assure her friend, but Ash was still on the verge of a mental break down, "I don't think Dawn would want see you like this," Salvia tried her best to comfort Ash.

"Yes she does," Ash replied as parts of the dream played back in his mind, Ash looked towards the corner of the empty room seeing the shadowy figure again. The trainer got up and approached the ghost, but it was soon gone, "again," Ash noted but Salvia started to grow more concerned about his mental state, "did you see that shadow a moment ago?" Ash asked the princess.

"Yes, I have seen it a bit," Salvia replied trying to maintain her calmness. Salvia grabbed the bottle and placed it on the front counter with the shot glass next to it, "come on Ash, rest up, we will be in Snowpoint City tomorrow morning," Salvia instructed Ash, but the trainer ignored her continuing to stare at the corner where he saw the spirit.

"Is someone tormenting me?" Ash whispered, his eyes widened by the spirit and the small amount of alcohol that entered his system.

"Sir Ash, you cannot possibly think of your revenge if you get drunk and have no amount of rest," Salvia concern for Ash started to grow.

"Why are you so worried about me?" Ash asked the princess.

Salvia shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, "the answer is simple, I am your friend," Salvia answered the man, she started approaching the door, "just remember Ash, life isn't something you can throw away that easily," Salvia whispered, walking out of the bar, leaving Ash to lower his head and look at the ground.

Ash looked over his shoulder and gulped, he knew that the princess was right, but he still couldn't shake the feeling something or someone was watching him, 'still why does she care?' the angry trainer walked towards the door, questioning Salvia's intentions.

Ash walked down the hall and stopped by Salvia's room, "Dawn, what do I do to help Ash? " Salvia asked herself while in tears, Ash stopped as he listened to Salvia crying, "Ash is a broken person, what can I do for him?" Salvia kept asking hoping for a response from her best friend.

Ash stopped at the door, preparing to knock, 'I am being foolish, here she is crying,' Ash thought to himself, he lowered his hand and walked away from the room.

Meanwhile in the princess' room Salvia felt someone placing their hand on her left shoulder, Salvia looked over to find that no one was there, clearing up her tears she, "is someone there?" Salvia asked, perplexed by the slight tap on her left shoulder, scanning the room, she still found that no one was around and that she was the only one in the room.

**(The next morning)**

Ash was sitting in his room, looking towards the door, he heard a knock on the door, taking a deep breath, "the door isn't locked come in," Ash called to the person.

Salvia emerged from the open door, "the ship has docked in Snowpoint City, we need to go," Salvia informed Ash, she watched him tiredly stand up and walk slowly towards the exit of the room, "did you get any sleep last night?" Salvia asked the trainer, showing even more concern for the young man. Ash walked passed her ignoring the question, "answer me, did you get anymore sleep last night?!" Salvia asked furiously.

Ash looked over his right shoulder and the towards the wall, "no, I didn't get any more sleep, because I couldn't sleep last night, every time I tried, the same image kept playing back in my mind," Ash replied with a tired expression.

"You cannot sleep and you are in a bad mental state, we rest in Snowpoint for a few days," Salvia issued her plan of action to the trainer, "I am concerned for…." The princess started to feel dizzy falling to the ground.

Ash dropped his bag and rushed to his friend's aid, "hey you alright?" Ash asked the blue haired princess, the trainer placed his hand over her forehead, feeling that she was burning up, "what, she has a fever," Ash pointed out.

Salvia pushed Ash's hand aside and stood up, "I will be fine, I am more worried about you," Salvia walked away from Ash, after staggering a few steps Salvia placed her hand on the wall and tried to push herself towards the exit.

Ash ran up to the princess, "hey, let me help you," Ash grabbed a jacket from his back pack and placed it around the princess.

"I can walk on my own," Salvia tried ot push Ash back, but was too weak to even push his assistance away.

Ash placed his arm around the young royal and assisted her towards the exit, "I heard you crying last night," Ash admitted to the princess.

Salvia lowered her head, feeling ashamed that Ash heard her break down, "you heard me asking Dawn what I should do," Salvia pointed out, she walked slowly with Ash's assistance, the princess placed her right hand on her left shoulder, "you know last night, someone tapped me on the shoulder, when I looked around, no one was there," Salvia confessed to Ash, as her strength continued to fade.

Ash looked back to see the empty hallway, thinking back to seeing the spirit that seem to have followed him, 'it seems to be following me, but why?' Ash asked himself, feeling confused by the presence of the figure.

After making to the Pokemon Centre, Ash waited in the main foyer for the doctor to finish the check-up of his friend, with a plate of food in his hands Ash took a seat at the table, slowly eating the food, ignoring the trainers inside the Pokemon Centre, "I am really pathetic, the person who is trying to comfort me at the moment is the very same person I am pushing away," Ash started talking to himself as if someone was there.

The doctor walked up to Ash and sat opposite him, "the princess will be fine, she needs to rest for a few days, not only that she also needs to have a few proper meals," the doctor instructed the trainer, "also, she needs this medicine, she is suffering pneumonia," the doctor gave Ash the prescription for him to follow.

"Yeah, but I am unreliable, why are you telling me to help her, the last person I tried to help, well she isn't alive to tell you how I failed," Ash informed the doctor.

"You also seem to be going through depression, you need to rest as well, but first please make sure the princess is alright, I am sure you would be able to heal over time," the doctor explained to the trainer who was looking at the paper work for the medicine.

"Alright, I will do what I can, thank you doctor," Ash replied as he continued to eat his meal.

"I will be back in a few days, to see if there is any improvement in her health," the doctor stated his plan to Ash, he grabbed his briefcase and walked out of the medical facility.

Ash finished his meal and walked towards the exit of the Pokemon Centre, with paper in hand Ash, started to think about his own problems as well, he looked up to see the ghostly figure again, "why are you following me?" Ash asked the figure, but it started walking towards the pharmacy, Ash started running towards the spirit, but wasn't getting any closer, "hey, I asked you a question," Ash snapped at the spirit but still no response from the disembodied figure.

Ash made it to the pharmacy, he looked around to find that the spirit was gone yet again, leaving the puzzled trainer even more confused, "just what is going on? Am I and Salvia linked to this spirit?" Ash asked himself.

"Excuse me sir, is there anything I can do to help you?" a woman wearing a woollen jumper and red hair asked the trainer.

"Yes there is something you can do to help me," Ash replied, handing over the paperwork to get the medicine for the princess.

The chemist worker looked at the paper work and gasped in shock, "that is some powerful medicine, who is it for?" the worker asked Ash with a puzzled expression.

"It is for Princess Salvia, at the moment, she is under my care," Ash responded with a less than pleased tone.

"I see, it must be pretty bad for our world famous doctor to prescribe something this powerful," the worker replied, she walked off to get the required medicine.

Ash waited for the worker to reappear with the medicine, he looked over the shoulder wondering if the spirit would make a re-emergence, when nothing happened he grew more concerned, "what does it want from me?" Ash asked himself wondering who was haunting him.

"Here is the medicine, you better hurry," the worker informed Ash.

"Thanks," Ash replied, taking the medicine, Ash walked out of the chemist and rushed back towards the Pokemon Centre. Before entering Ash glanced over his right shoulder to see if he was being followed by the spirit, but nothing yet again, "I guess, it has something to do with me failing," Ash remarked as he belittled himself, he forced himself to re-enter the medical facility to help out his royal friend.

Ash entered the room and placed the medicine on the bed side draw, "you know princess, I am lucky to have a friend like you," Ash confessed as he turned away to let the princess rest, he opened the door and started to walk out, "thank you Princess Salvia," Ash thanked the royal, closing the door to let the royal rest on her own.

Salvia smiled for a moment, knowing that Ash for the first time since she met him, showed some compassion, "at least you aren't destroying yourself, but there is still a long road of recovery to go," Salvia told herself thinking about what was going to happen.

Meanwhile in the Palace Pride was walking with the king, "yes, your highness, I will find your daughter and have her killed," Pride bowed his head, the king walked away pleased with the response, not realising the smirk running across the face of Pride, "you're a fool your highness," Pride whispered as he watched the king leave the area.

Gluttony appeared next to the leader of the Shadow Lords, "you want me to the king?" Gluttony asked the leader.

"No Gluttony, the king is a valuable pawn, he still has a part to play in our little game," Pride retorted with a smirk, "we will still use this foolish king, better to kill two birds with one stone," Pride started laughing.

"Then what about Greed?" Gluttony asked his leader.

"Leave him to Lust and Envy, that traitor will pay for his own actions," Pride answered the gluttonous member of his team, he turned away and spotted one of the shocked soldiers, "well Gluttony, there is your meal," Pride pointed towards the scared soldier. Pride watched the soldier getting killed by his loyal member, 'yes, the pieces are moving where I thought they would, but the mystery is,' Pride thought to himself as he walked through the halls of the palace, "where is the princess, maybe it would be best to lure her out of hiding," Pride thought to himself, thinking of a new plan.

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><p><strong>Pride's intentions have become clear, Ash is being followed by a spirit, but he is still lost, what will happen in the next meeting with Greed?<strong>

**Next time chapter 5: Vengeful Resolve**


	5. Vengeful Resolve

**Chapter 5: Vengeful resolve.**

_**Summary: **__a few days after arriving in Snowpoint City, the unlikely ally in Greed meets with them again, a much calmer Ash listens to Greed as his path towards vengeance is set._

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><p>Sitting in the pokemon Centre, thinking after resting for a few days, Ash still experiencing his nightmares, but not to the extent he was on the ship, he looked at the glass of beer that was in his grasp, thinking about how he was getting his revenge, "I haven't seen the spirit for a few days now, also, the nightmares have gotten weaker," Ash commented as he sipped the glass of beer, wondering how his friend was going to take his revenge.<p>

After finishing his drink Ash walked towards the hallway to get to the room of the princess, Salvia at the same time was preparing to find out the mystery revolving around the Seven Shadow Lords, "let's see I need to make sure that Ash isn't going to do something stupid," Salvia reminded herself looking for her pokeball, 'this should help, since I don't have my Togekiss, I have to use this one,' Salvia stared at her pokeball for a moment.

Ash knocked on the door startling the young royal, "hey princess, we need to get going," Ash called through the door.

"Not yet we have to wait for Greed," Salvia responded staunchly.

"I am not waiting for him to arrive, we need to get a move on before the other Seven Shadow Lords make an appearance," Ash argued, trying to rush the young royal.

"You still need to be patient, the other Seven Shadow Lords this time have to traverse a mountain and a valley of snow," Salvia snapped back, causing Ash to hit the door, "firstly Ash, you need to remain calm, I shouldn't have to be the one that tells you that," Salvia informed Ash as she heard another thumping on the door, knowing how frustrated Ash was feeling.

"Then what should I do?" Ash asked calmly.

"Firstly Ash, I am still not feeling well, I need to fully recover and you still need to rest up, it might have been three days, but that isn't enough for either of us to be ready for the fight," Salvia stated as Ash turned away from the door, submitting to Salvia's logic, he continued down the hallway only to be stopped by the call of Salvia, "plus didn't you say I am a true friend?" Salvia asked Ash.

Ash pretended not to hear her question, but knew that she had heard him, "yeah I said that, but sometimes I wish Dawn was here," replied the depressed trainer.

"I know, but she isn't sadly," Salvia stated with a saddened tone, "I know it is difficult, but you need to realise that once someone has died, they cannot be brought back to life, plus don't you think that Dawn would want you to be happy? Not moping and beating yourself up," Salvia replied before coughing, still feeling a little dizzy from her illness.

"How do you know?" came the cold reply form Ash.

Salvia took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders, "I am one of Dawn's best friends, she told me as long as you are a happy, then she will always be happy," Salvia informed the trainer.

"Yeah right," Ash retorted with a hint of sarcasm.

"Come on Ash, you cannot let things drag you down, you have a long life ahead of you," Salvia tried to cheer Ash up.

Ash walked away, not taking heed in what Salvia was telling him, 'it isn't like I have tried to be happy, but more of the fact that I lost my happiness,' Ash thought as he walked into the main foyer of the Pokemon Centre, seeing the doctor walk in with his briefcase, "oh doctor, she will be here in a moment," Ash informed the doctor calmly.

Salvia walked into the main foyer wearing a black blouse with a red dress, her long blue hair tied up in a ponytail, "alright, it seems like I will be getting a check-up again," the princess walked into the middle of the main foyer.

"So have you been taking the medicine?" the doctor asked the royal softly, the princess nodded to affirm the doctors hopes, "good, now you will still be feeling ill, but that should clear up in another three days," the doctor clarified with the princess.

"Great, so we are stuck here," Ash complained hitting the table in front of him.

"You have rested up, now the other thing you need to consider, there will be a snow storm coming and it will last a couple of days, it is best that you stay here where it is safe," the doctor replied as he pointed to the dark clouds rolling in from the south. "What makes it worse is that any roads leading out from the city will be blocked for another week, so take that chance to recover," the doctor informed Ash as he grabbed his suitcase and walked out of the medical facility for pokemon.

"You see Ash, there is no need to be worried about the Seven Shadow Lords, they wouldn't be able to make it passed the storm as well," Salvia assured Ash, getting to her feet and walking towards the café situated in the left side of the Pokemon Centre, "take the chance to get healthy, eat properly and please…" Salvia started before being interrupted by someone walking into the Pokemon Centre causing her to suddenly shiver from the cold.

"Clear your mind," Greed instructed Ash.

Ash turned to Greed and ran up to him, "you again," Ash grabbed him by the collar.

"Yes I know, you want to hurt me," Greed stated with a sigh, he grasped the wrist of Ash and forced him to let go, "you know, I was in the neighbourhood when I decided to tell you both the plan of attack, Lust and Envy will be here in over a week, they plan on taking advantage of you both being unwell, and trapped in this city," Greed explained the situation to Ash and Salvia, he looked around to see the full Pokemon Centre, "before I tell you both more, we better go somewhere private," greed whispered into Ash's left ear.

"I know a place where we can go," Salvia replied with a plate of food in her hands.

The trio walked towards the hallway and into her room, "certainly not a place I would find you resting in princess," Greed commented, looking around the room, which had little light, only a single bed as well as a bedside draw, Greed walked over to the medicine bottle, "you're sick," Greed commented with concern.

Ash looked out the door to make sure no one was following them, after closing the door, he glared at Greed who was holding the bottle, "now tell us, why Lust and Envy are coming here," Ash requested angrily.

"First, I was interrupted by Lust and Envy, there is more to the plan of the Shadow Lords," Greed replied, he placed the medicinal bottle back on the bedside draw, Greed grabbed a chair and turned it back to front, he pointed towards the bluenette, gasping in horror she placed her hands over her mouth in fear after finding out she was the target, "that's right princess, you're the target," Greed bluntly told both Ash and Salvia.

"Why me?" Salvia asked in fear.

"Have you ever heard of killing two Pidgeys with one stone?" Greed asked the royal.

"Me as well?" Ash asked Greed while looking over to the royal.

"You? No they don't even know who you are, I am talking about them killing the princess and the king, if they kill the princess, the line of succession is broken, there is no heir to the throne, this is something Pride will take advantage of," Greed explained to the two people in the room, he looked out the window to see the snow starting to fall.

"Wait a second, why did my dad change so much?" Salvia asked the Shadow lord about her father's change in personality.

Greed looked at the ground with shame written over his face, "did your father tell you what happened to your mother?" Greed asked the princess with a frown.

"Cut the crap Greed, tell us the extent of their plans," Ash dictated terms with the traitorous Shadow Lord.

"Let me finish," Greed told Ash with a frown, he looked over to the princess who shook her head with sadness, "your father told you, your mother was killed in an accident, well that is false," Greed remarked calmly, he noticed Salvia starting to cry, with him clenching his fists angrily, "your mother was murdered, by none other than Lust and Envy, I heard them boasting about it to Pride behind the back of your father," Greed explained to Salvia who fell to the ground crying about the new development.

Ash looked at his friend who was crying, "wait, why didn't you say something to her father?" Ash asked Greed as he grabbed him by the collar again.

"I wanted to, but unfortunately Pride was whispering into his ear, and was always there, feeding Salvia's father all the lies in the world, the best one yet was the promise to bring a person back to life, the person he wanted to be brought back to life was none other than your mother princess," Greed explained the reasoning behind her father's attitude change, "yet we know as well as anyone, that once a person dies, they cannot be brought back to life," Greed replied to his own explanation.

"Why? I love my mom, she was a really nice person, she made me and my family happy, why would someone murder her?" Salvia cried as she started hitting Greed.

"So this is what guilt feels like," Greed noticed the feeling in his mind, "and now Ash time to answer your question, you see, the murder of the queen was a part of the plan to get the king to head down a darker road," Greed elucidated the start of the plan to Ash and Salvia, he grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Ash, "I was gradually turning against the Shadow Lords and that was the final straw, I kept giving information to their enemies until everyone was ready to counter attack," Greed clarified with two as Salvia felt a little dizzy and stepped back after her numerous hits on Greed.

"That doesn't explain everything," Ash retorted with his fists clenched.

"Then let me make it clear to you, they wish to create a new world order, destroying all kingdoms is the first step," Greed answered Ash's question with a grimace, he gave the paper to Ash showing them the new leaders of Unova, "they are young but, they have the full support of me and the armies of the world," Greed showed Ash a picture of a woman with long brown hair, wearing denim shorts, a white blouse and a black vest, she was standing next to a man with a blue jacket, jeans and short brown hair, "they were chosen by the previous king, his name was N," Greed pointed out with a troubled tone.

"Wait, you mean?" Ash started to question the Shadow Lord with a startled expression, Greed nodded and took a deep breath, "he was one of my friends, and these two strangers have taken the throne!" Ash started yelling at Greed but was soon hushed by the former member of the Shadow lords.

"Keep your voice down," Greed whispered as he placed his hand over the raven haired trainer's mouth.

"So Greed, what of the other kingdoms and their tenuous pact of peace with ours?" Salvia asked after regaining some of her composure.

Greed quickly removed his hand and glanced over to the royal, "well these are only rumours, the prince of Kalos is living in a rural town, while the princess of Johto is In hiding, but the royal lines of Kanto and Hoenn weren't so fortunate," Greed whispered, but started pointing to the back of the picture.

"Why are you pointing at the picture?" Ash asked in a puzzled manner.

Salvia looked at the back of the picture and snatched it from Ash, "there is some writing on the back," Salvia answered her friend. Salvia gazed at the back of the picture and started to read it, "odd, most of it is rubbed out," Salvia tried her best to read the writing.

"Yeah, I was holding onto the picture," Greed admitted as he started to feel guilty about his own involvement in the Shadow Lords, "you know normally I wouldn't feel guilty about my involvement in the Shadow Lords, but that was years ago, now I have no guilt about betraying them," Greed admitted to his unlikely allies, Salvia handed back the photo and then turned her attention to Ash, "so Ash, what do you intend to do?" Greed asked the young man.

"Simple, I want to destroy the Seven Shadow Lords," Ash snapped back with a determined face, he pulled out his photo of him and Dawn, "get my revenge on them for what happened," Ash confessed while looking at the photo, then glared at the former Shadow Lord.

"I know, you don't trust me, but I think it is time to make a plan of attack on Lust and Envy," Greed explained to the trainer and the princess, he pulled out pictures of his two former teammates, "now these two work in tandem, Lust can easily seduce her victims but also has a deadly ability where she can read a person's mind and take on the form of someone the victim loves, even act like that person," Greed explained the abilities of Lust to his allies.

"What about envy?" Salvia asked the trainer.

"Well Envy, as his name implies works on using the jealousy of anyone who is attracted to the other victim," Greed answered the princess, "now I know full well you two are friends, but in this situation, Salvia we need to hope you can act well," Greed informed the princess.

Salvia looked at the ground furious at the idea, "how can I act? I haven't been taught," Salvia snapped back, she looked over at Ash who was equally, angry at the idea, "plus, that would be stupid Greed, haven't you forgotten, I look exactly like his lost love, that wouldn't be fair on Ash," Salvia informed the Shadow Lord.

Greed sighed momentarily and shook his head, standing up, he walked towards the window, "so what do you want to do? Defeating Lust and Envy would fulfil the revenge you both seek," Greed hit the bedside draw, causing the medicine to fall off the draw, in a sudden move Ash lunged down and prevented the bottle from breaking, "you two need to come up with a plan and fast," Greed instructed the two.

The raven haired trainer looked at the man who was staring at the window, "you're on our side right, how about you pretend to re-join them?" Ash suggested much to the shock of Greed.

Greed spun around with a smirk on his face, "oh I have been wanting to stab Envy in the back, quite literally," Greed confessed his dislike of Envy towards his new found allies, a dark smirk ran across his face as the two friends started to wonder what he was thinking.

Salvia tilted her head in shock at the Shadow Lord, "then how about you pretend to take me hostage? That should make it a believable plan as well," Salvia suggested more ideas on the plan, holding out her pokeball, "then when the time is right, we strike back for a counter attack," Salvia explained the idea to Ash and Greed.

Ash looked up to Greed and started to wonder about something, "Greed, why do you hate Envy so much?" Ash asked the former member of the Shadow Lords.

"I cannot stand him," Greed replied, smiling with a hint of bloodlust in his eyes, "I like the idea," Greed agreed to the plan.

Ash and Salvia looked at one another with a concerned expression, "Salvia, I don't know he seems to hate Envy so much he would rather stab him in the back," Ash whispered as he sat back down, handing back the medicinal bottle back to the princess.

"I know Ash, but it seems like we can trust Greed…..for now," Salvia replied with a concerned expression, turning her attention to Greed, the two walked towards the door, "Greed, we are going to get something to eat," Salvia told the former Shadow Lord.

"Man, it is going to be difficult to convince them that I am not part of the enemy, but that is fine as long as Pride and the rest fail I couldn't care less," Greed looked at the picture of Ash and Dawn, "there has to be a way I can atone for my sins," Greed whispered as he turned towards the door only to spot a shadowy figure standing at the doorway, "I know, I am trying to help them, but you would still be here if I didn't make the wrong move," Greed told the spirit, but it never replied, it just vanished leaving Greed thinking about what he had to do to keep the people he hoped to protect.

Salvia and Ash grabbed some food, they took a glance towards the window seeing the snowstorm setting in, "I guess there isn't much we can do," Ash walked back to the table.

Salvia sat in front of Ash and started eating her meal, "so we need to place our trust in Greed?" Salvia asked as she looked over to the hallway.

Ash swallowed his first bite, "yeah we do, if he wanted to he could have taken us both out, but he didn't," Ash commented as he glanced over his shoulder, "plus, why does he want to kill Envy? Did something happen between him and Envy?" Ash asked the princess, grabbing his next fork load of food, "the other question is how does Lust and Envy know you're here?" Ash continued to ask the questions.

"Wait didn't Greed tell you to keep your voice down? So there is someone who has been spying for them," Salvia quickly deducted, trying to figure out who it was.

Ash placed the fork down and looked around he also wanted to figure out how Lust and Envy knew they were in Snowpoint City, "do you think it could be the doctor?" Ash asked the princess calmly.

"What makes you think that?" Salvia asked the trainer with a shocked expression.

"Just a feeling I got," Ash replied with a grimace, "plus it couldn't have been Greed, he only just arrived," Ash pointed out with his left hand over his mouth.

Greed walked into the main foyer where he spotted Ash and Salvia having a meal together, 'they are trying to figure out who ratted them out,' Greed thought to himself.

Ash got up and walked towards he door, "I am going for a walk," Ash declared quietly, Salvia got up and showed her willingness to go with Ash, but Ash stopped her from leaving the Pokemon Centre, "no you stay here, you are still sick, I don't want you getting worse," Ash ordered the princess.

"He is right Princess, you stay here where it's safe, let Ash find out who sold you both out to my former comrades," Greed told the princess as he looked towards Ash, "the full force of the storm will be here in under an hour, you better be back here soon," Greed told Ash who glared at him, "you think I did it, I don't blame you, but as you said, I only recently got here," Greed tried his best to defend himself, Ash grabbed a scarf and walked out into the falling snow, "Ash, come back safely," Greed instructed the trainer with a nod.

"Ash, please make sure you make it back before the storm gets worse," Salvia pleaded with the trainer, her expression now fully of concern for his wellbeing, she watched Ash vanishing in the white blanket that was covering the air, 'please Ash, don't do anything stupid.' Salvia wished as she turned back to the fire inside the Pokemon Centre.

Ash walked through the snow which was starting to get heavier, Ash tried to find the place where the doctor resided, "let's see, the doctor should be living around here," Ash noted to himself, he walked covering his face from the driving snow, he immediately noticed that he didn't have too much time before the full force of the storm set in.

Ash pressed on until he made it to the house of the doctor, he knocked on the door, but there was no answer, he could barely hear the doctor talking, but it was enough to hear what he was saying, "yes, I am making sure those two don't go anywhere," the doctor was saying something Ash could barely here, "even the traitor is there too," the doctor was telling someone, Ash pressed his ear against the door so he get a better ear on what was being said.

"So he is talking to someone," Ash whispered as the wind started to pick up.

"Yes Lust, the princess is at the Pokemon Centre," the doctor called the name much to Ash's horror, Ash stepped back trying to take in what he had heard, "that's right, she will be healthy soon, but they will be trapped here for a few days, she will not be able to escape," the doctor informed Lust of the young royal's situation.

After hearing the doctor's confession of sorts Ash made his way back to the Pokemon Centre, the road being more difficult to follow as the winds continued to get stronger, 'I don't believe this, Greed was innocent, but the doctor, what was that bastard thinking, selling out the princess like that?' Ash tried his best to digest what was going on.

Ash pressed on but soon collapsed, he felt the hand of someone pushing him to go forward, but no one was there, Ash looked around, finding that no one was in the area, "again that spirit seems to be guiding me, but why?" Ash got back up and pressed on towards the Pokemon Centre.

"Do you think he will make it back? The weather is getting worse," Salvia's concern for Ash started to build even more.

Greed looked out the window hoping that Ash would make it back, "yeah, I am hoping so, something tells me he has an important part to play to save the world," Greed replied taking a deep breath.

After talking about Ash, the wind drove in revealing a panting Ash, he placed his hands on his knees trying to regain his composure, "it…..it…..was the…..doctor," Ash informed Salvia and Greed, he looked up with an angered expression, "he was talking to Lust and Envy," Ash stated much to Greed's shock and the princess' horror.

Salvia placed her hands over her mouth, her eyes widened realising that they were now trapped inside the city, "but why?" Salvia asked stepping back, coughing as the cool air soon hit her, but it wasn't that of the air outside, it was like her entire body had cooled down.

"He was doing his job as a doctor, but the question is, why did he sell us out?" Ash asked himself, looking up to Greed, "what else can you tell us?" Ash asked the former Shadow Lord.

"The Shadow Lords, make promises they never keep, for instance, like with Salvia's father, they promise to bring back loved ones is a very tempting offer, I am willing to bet, the doctor lost someone precious to him," Greed explained to Ash and Salvia, he walked to the door, "you two have no choice, you need to fight, let's hope by then you will have fully recovered," Greed informed the two friends, as he helped the Nurse lower the barrier to enforce the Pokemon Centre doors.

"You made it back safely, thank goodness for that," Salvia breathed a sigh of relief, she turned towards the man she thought was her enemy, seeing him help the people out, "you know Ash, it seems like we have misjudged Greed, he is helping people out and asking for nothing in return," Salvia said with a smile on her face.

Ash looked over to the helping Shadow Lord, giving members of the public and trainers alike blankets in order to keep warm during the snowstorm, "hey you two please help out a little," Greed made a request to the two.

Ash and Salvia started helping Greed and Nurse Joy out, handing out food and blankets to the people, "here you go," Ash handed a blanket to a child.

"Thank you sir," the child replied with a joyous smile.

Greed walked up to Ash happy to see that the people were going to be fine, "so Ash, what is your answer?" Greed asked the trainer calmly.

"Simple, I seek payback for what the Shadow Lords did to Dawn, but, I need to make sure these people are alright, so when Lust and Envy come here, I will fight them with tooth and nail, for revenge and for the people here," Ash informed his new ally.

"Revenge ha?" Greed asked the trainer laughing at him, "you still seek the avenge the love you have lost, yet you accept that once someone's life is lost, they cannot be brought back, the same cannot be said for the King and the doctor," Greed explained to Ash, he looked over to the royal who was getting a little sick, "you better take her to her room, to get her medicine, I was able to get more just in case, so you need to look after her," Greed instructed Ash, he walked off to help more people out, "you know at one time, I thought being filthy rich meant having lots of money, but helping people out makes me feel even richer, maybe I am being greedy," Greed started laughing at his own weakness. Greed glanced over his shoulder with a playful smile, "when you see the other bottle, take credit for getting, tell the princess you got it for her."

Ash walked over to the princess who started coughing, "come on Princess, time for you to rest up," Ash informed the young royal.

"No, I…..I want to help," Salvia coughed out her response, now feeling tired from all of her work, Ash didn't listen he led the bluenette back to her room, making her feel guilty, "please Ash, I am not worried about my health, these people need help," Salvia weakly requested and getting weaker due to her illness.

"Don't you worry about that, Greed and I will help the people out," Ash tried his best to smile during the response, but still nothing would emerge, he opened the door and helped the tiring princess back to her bed, Ash grabbed the bottle and pulled out a couple of tablets to give to the princess, "now take your medicine and rest up," Ash ordered the young royal as the lights started to flicker, Ash turned around and quickly noticed another problem with the princess, who was getting really nervy with the flickering lights, "hey is there a problem?" Ash asked the blue haired royal with a concerned tone.

Salvia sat with her back to the wall, "yes, I am afraid of the dark," Salvia replied with an embarrassed tone.

"You're twenty and you're scared of the dark?" Ash questioned the princess, but dared not tease her further about her fear, "well I guess I can't say anything, there are some things I am scared of as well," Ash admitted while handing over the medicine, leaving the princess perplexed by his comment, she tilted her head as if to ask what he was afraid of, "I will leave it at that, you go to sleep," Ash instructed the royal, as he walked back to the entrance of the room.

**(2 Hours later)**

After a few hours of helping the trapped people in the Pokemon Centre out, Ash walked back into the hallway as the storm got worse, the lights made their final flicker before finally going out, Ash walked passed the room housing the princess, only to hear her sobbing, "it's so dark," Salvia cried, Ash stopped for a moment and thought about what to do next, he turned to the door and put his hand on the doorknob, "I am so scared," Salvia admitted, Ash hesitated for a moment.

Ash with his hand shaking thought about opening the door, he removed his hand and started to walk away from the room, only to hear the young royal crying even more, "she is an adult and is so frightened of the dark," Ash hissed he quickly opened the door and spotted the princess with her arms around her legs, her head resting on her knees.

"Who's there?" Salvia asked with a fearful tone, hearing the door close, not daring to look up out of fear.

Ash walked up to the bed and sat next to the princess, "you know, it is a little sad that you're afraid of the dark at your age," Ash commented as the princess rested her head on the trainer's shoulder.

"I know, I cannot help it Ash," Salvia answered back, feeling a little more at ease, "you said you were afraid of something what is it?" Salvia asked her friend softly.

"Going to sleep and being hounded by the nightmares I have been getting over the last few nights," Ash admitted his new fear to the princess, "in fact I haven't slept properly for nearly a week," Ash confessed his problem to his royal friend.

Salvia looked over to Ash, who was looking at his hands, trying to cover up his fear as much as possible, "wow, you haven't said a thing about being scared of going to sleep," Salvia commented to which Ash remained quiet, the room remained dark, leaving Ash and Salvia to talk about their own little fears, until the eventually fell asleep while sitting up, peacefully as the howling storm continued outside of the Pokemon Centre, Salvia's head resting on the right shoulder of Ash, who was sleeping right next to her.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed this chapter the ending part was quite nice, but that is the last little bit of peace they will get for a little while. <strong>

**Next time chapter 6: Shattered Snow Storm**


	6. Shatted Snow Storm

**Chapter 6: Shattered Snow Storm.**

_**Summary: **__The snow storm is over, but the clean-up begins, during the clean up the enemy shows up unexpectedly ambushing both Ash and Greed, but the turning of the tide appears when the Shadow Lords start to discover who they are facing against._

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><p>Greed walked around to make sure the people were alright, smiling he noticed a little child walking up to him, "you're amazing," the kid complimented the Shadow Lord.<p>

Greed chuckled slightly and turned away, "no it was my two friends, they did all the work," Greed tried to remove all of the credit from himself, the people looked at him as if to tell him he did an amazing job, Greed rushed off to find his allies, he walked into the hallway and noticed that one of the doors was part open, he pushed it open to find that Ash and Salvia were sitting up and sleeping at the same time, he also noticed Salvia's head resting on Ash's right shoulder.

A broad smirk crossed his face coming up with an idea, he tip-toed into the room and approached his friends, 'time to play a small prank on these two,' Greed thought as he grabbed the right arm of Ash, slowly but surely moving it without making any sudden movements. Moving it slowly until Ash's arm was around the princess' shoulder.

Greed walked out quickly and without making any noises, he closed the door and waited for Ash and Salvia to wake up, "I cannot wait for the reaction," Greed held back his laughter.

Salvia was the first to wake, she was quick to notice Ash's arm around her, getting upset at what she had seen, she poked the face of Ash, trying to make him uncomfortable, "Ash wake up now," Salvia demanded.

Ash slowly woke up and stretched out his arms, yawning at the same time, "is it morning already?" Ash asked the princess tiredly.

"What were you doing with your arm around me?" Salvia glared at her friend.

"Hey, I did no such thing," Ash replied before noticing the position of his right arm, "yeah and slept on my shoulder like a baby," Ash snapped back.

"Wait we slept together?" Salvia pushed Ash away, before hearing the laughter of Greed coming from out the bluenette's room. Ash and Salvia looked at one another and nodded, "he pulled a prank on us," Salvia acknowledged with a slight laugh, she got up and pushed Ash out of the room, "I need to get dressed," Salvia commented as she closed the door.

Ash looked over to Greed who was smiling proudly with his own actions, "sorry about that Ash, you two seemed really comfortable," Greed teased his friend.

"Why didn't you wake us up?" Ash asked Greed with a disappointed tone.

"Me wake you two up? No that was way too much fun," Greed admitted his interest in pulling his prank on Ash and Salvia, "the storm has finished, I think we also need to clean up," Greed informed Ash as he walked away from the trainer.

"You know changing the topic isn't going to help you later on," Ash remarked with a serious tone, looking towards the door that was closed, "Salvia, I am heading to the main foyer, I will get your breakfast," Ash informed the young royal quietly, Ash exited the hallway, shaking his head in disbelief that Greed would pull a prank on them.

Meanwhile Salvia who was fully dressed, also wondering why she was the victim of a prank, "maybe Greed did it to put us a little at ease," Salvia whispered to herself, but her thoughts soon drifted to the previous night, her and Ash talking about their respective fears, "it was nice that we were able to talk, at least he was calmer," Salvia quietly told herself as she pulled out a picture of her and Dawn at the palace prior to her friend's own demise, "you know Dawn, he hasn't been happy for a while, but I bet I can change that," Salvia whispered to the picture of Dawn.

**(Arrowroot Town)**

Pride walked to the king who was sitting on the throne, "sir, we have found your daughter, she is in Snowpoint City, Lust and Envy will be there in just two hours from now," Pride informed the king who nodded in approval.

"Very good Pride, don't let me down, after all you promise to bring my wife back is still a part of our deal," Salvia's father explained to the Shadow Lord.

"Yes of course, your majesty," Pride retorted with a smirk. The Shadow Lord turned away his smile broadening, holding back his laughter, 'you sir are a fool, we have no intentions of bringing your wife back, not that we could anyway, you are as foolish as the good doctor in Snowpoint City,' Pride thought as he opened the door, he peered through the door seeing the depressed king, "this is almost too easy," Pride smugly stated as he closed the door.

A man with a black cloak walked up to Pride who placed the hood over his head, "Pride, is the king about ready to fall?" Gluttony asked his leader.

"No, he is still going to be a pawn in this game, plus with Greed's betrayal, I don't expect Lust and Envy to have an easy mission, he has given way too much information to the enemy," Pride explained the problem to Gluttony.

"I see, so you don't expect those two to survive?" Gluttony asked the leader of the Seven Shadow Lords.

"Our problem will come if the king and queen of Unova join this fight, Lust and Envy don't concern me, but Greed on the other hand….." the leader clenched his fists angrily and punched the wall to the left of him, "I want Greed dead!" Pride informed Gluttony giving him a stare that shook the subordinate to the core, removing his fist from the wall revealing a gaping hole that scared his ally even more.

"Y-yes sir," Gluttony replied before running off to fulfil his mission.

Pride watched his subordinate running away to start his mission, 'yes, everything is falling into place, the pieces are aligning and the next stage of this game is about to begin,' Pride thought as he glanced over his right shoulder, "but first….. soon one piece will be eliminated," Pride started laughing at his first victim.

Pride walked down the hall sliding his right hand across the wall, until he felt a secret button coming from the wall, he pressed it lightly, he heard the growls of one of the members followed by the snoring of another, "I see so Sloth is asleep while guarding Wrath," Pride turned on the light to see Sloth sleeping on a chair.

Raising his head slowly, Sloth opened his eyes to see Pride walking through the secret hallway, "Pride…sorry, for sleeping," the lazy member of the Shadow Lords apologised, slowly and without any emotion.

Pride approached the near sleeping member, "don't worry too much Sloth, the time will come when I will unleash Wrath on the world," Pride informed the loyal guard.

"Pride! Let me out and so I can destroy everything!" Wrath bashed at the door.

Pride calmly stared at the, looking into the prison containing the final shadow lord seeing the bulky man thrashing about the prison, "Wrath, your turn will come, but you need to wait, first I need to deal with Pride, the foolish king and his meddling daughter," Pride informed the powerful man, he turned away allowing Sloth to sleep even more on his duties, 'luckily Sloth is almost equal to Wrath,' Pride thought to himself walking through the hallway again.

**(Snowpoint City)**

Ash started cleaning up the city with Salvia looking on from the distance, not even noticing the princess helping out a little while keeping an eye on him, 'last night, he comforted me, but now he is helping out other people, it is like he is a lot more at ease,' Salvia thought, shivering as the chilling wind blew in from the mountain.

"He certainly is serious, it is like he doesn't want to let any more people down," Greed crossed his arms watching Ash repairing a fence after the severe storm that lashed the area.

"What do you mean Greed?" Salvia asked the former Shadow Lord.

Greed knelt down and picked up some of the snow, "you know Pride will be after me soon, no doubt he will try to kill me, one of the reasons why I left the Shadow Lords is because Pride is using them for his own ambitions," Greed explained to the forming a snowball.

"Why are you telling me this?" Salvia asked her new ally.

"Because I will not survive this battle," Greed informed the princess much to her dismay, he turned towards the mountains and spotted the doctor approaching the princess, "remember princess, pretend not to know," Greed whispered without the doctor knowing.

Ash was quick to notice the doctor, he dropped his tools and nodded at the young royal, "time to get some answers," Ash hissed inaudibly, Ash followed Salvia back into the Pokemon Centre, but waiting for the chance to confront the doctor, Greed wasn't far behind, the Shadow lord glanced over his shoulder to make sure the enemy wasn't nearby, "so, what is the plan this time?" Ash asked calmly watching the princess remain quiet.

"We wait, then Salvia will come out to get a drink of water, that will be our chance to confront the good doctor," Greed informed Ash who remained serious about the plan, Ash grabbed a chair and waited for the chance, thinking about what he had heard from the day before.

Meanwhile Salvia was getting another health check, to make sure that her illness was clearing up, "good, everything seems to be going well," the doctor remarked.

Salvia stood up and walked out of the room, "I am going to get a glass of water," Salvia informed the doctor, she opened the door and looked back, "I will be back in a moment," Salvia smiled at the doctor.

"Alright," the man with short grey hair replied calmly.

Salvia walked into the main foyer and glanced at Ash who was sitting, waiting for the plan to be enacted, "you wait here," Ash ordered the young royal. After jumping out of his seat Ash and Greed rushed to the room with the hopes of getting an answer from the doctor.

Ash and Greed walked into the room hoping to see the doctor, as they entered they found the doctor on the ground in a pool of his own blood, "what happened? That was too fast," Ash enquired looking around, to see who was responsible.

"It seems like we have company," Greed retorted, scanning the room for the person responsible.

"Ah we arrived much sooner than expected," a voice familiar to Greed echoed in the room.

Greed looked around to find that no one was in the room, the silver haired man, turned around and ran out of the room, he scanned the hallway to find that the person who said something wasn't in the hallway, "stupid Lust, where is that bitch?" Greed hissed in frustration, running down the hallway to see where his former teammate was hiding.

Meanwhile in the room Ash was looking around until he was pushed to the wall, upon opening his eyes he spotted a man with green eyes, red hair and wearing a black suit, "hello, I see you have made friends with Greed," the young man said while picking Ash up off the ground, "do you know who I am?" the person asked the trainer.

"Yeah, you're Envy, the dirty little pig that killed my fiancé," Ash replied, glaring at the man.

"Oh so I am famous now, nowhere near as famous as you," Envy replied with a hint of jealousy.

Ash smugly smirked at the Shadow Lord, "oh well, not all of us are as stupid as you," Ash insulted the Shadow Lord, "I know it was you that killed the doctor, what are you hiding?" Ash asked Envy with a more serious tone.

"Hiding, well how about the truth?" Envy answered the trainer, putting the trainer back on to the ground he started walking towards the door way, "the truth is, I was responsible for the death of your precious fiancé, as well as your mother, her friend and the two pokemon," Envy admitted to Ash. Now seething with the truth being told to him Ash blindly charged towards Envy and grabbed him by the throat, pushing him out of the room and into the hallway.

"You bastard, for that, I will make sure your death is long and painful!" Ash yelled at the Shadow Lord, raising his left fist into the air, preparing to punch the enemy, upon seeing Envy laughing at him and taking it as a taunt from him, Ash hit the Shadow Lord, but missed him hitting the wall just inches from Envy's face.

"What's the matter? You missed me, I thought you were going to slowly kill me," Envy continued to taunt Ash.

"I change my mind, I am going to let Greed deal with you," Ash growled at the Shadow Lord, pulling his left fist back Ash prepared another punch, this time jabbing Envy in the stomach, Ash let go of Envy as he started coughing and spluttering, gasping for air. Ash quickly grabbed the trench coat and dragged envy back towards the main foyer.

Lust looked at her teammate now in a pathetic position, "you know, this has nothing at all to do with you, yet you meddle in our affairs," Lust turned her attention to Ash who shook his head in response to Lust's comments, "you want to get involved in this? I don't pity you," Lust placed her right hand over her head in displeasure.

"Listen up, your teammate was responsible for Dawn's death! Don't you dare say this has nothing to do with me!" Ash yelled at the only female shadow lord, using all his strength Ash tossed Envy towards Lust who was looking at the teammate.

"No one hurts my teammate and gets away with it," Lust coldly informed Ash.

Greed stood infront of Ash and barred the path of Lust, "do you not know what Pride is after? You don't even know why I betrayed Shadow Lords, you only took it as something that should never have been done,' Greed started as he looked over to Envy who was slowly getting up, "Ash, take the princess somewhere safe," Greed whispered to Ash, preparing to take on his former comrades.

"Envy, prevent the princess from escaping, I will deal with Greed," Lust ordered her teammate calmly, Lust glared at the former member of the Seven Shadow Lords, "Twinleaf Town, you betrayed us," Lust growled at Greed.

Laughing at his former comrade, he walked around the Pokemon Centre and stood between the people and Lust, "there is a difference between me and the other Shadow Lords, I have found something or someone worth protecting, life is a precious gift and I intend to be greedy and enjoy all the pleasures of life, money, food, wine and yeah you know the rest," Greed confessed with a smirk, he looked over at Ash and Salvia seeing them running away from Envy.

"So what is you lust for Greed?" Lust asked the traitorous member of the Shadow Lords.

"Well it something you and the other bastards don't have, but I think I will keep that a secret, not that a filthy bitch like needs to know what I want," Greed taunted the female member of the Shadow Lords.

"For that Greed, you will die as painfully as possible," Lust scowled at Greed, lowering her hood revealing her long red hair.

"There is something else, I am going to enjoy ripping your hair out by the roots," Greed stated before feeling a powerful kick that sent him flying towards the wall, "right almost forgot, don't incur Lust's wrath," Greed whispered to himself, Greed looked back to see the people panicking, "hey you guys, don't panic, get out of here now!" Greed instructed the people, 'man this is against my policy,' Greed looked over to the woman taunting him.

"What's the matter Greed, can't hit a woman?" Lust asked her former comrade.

"How about changing forms? You know to a man, so I can at least hit you," Greed suggested with a smirk

"Nope, I know your biggest weaknesses Greed, like how soft you are when it comes to people, you have always been soft," Lust walked towards a little girl who had lost her mother in the panic, Lust grabbed the girls hair and smirked at Greed, "so what now? You are in a position where you have been hurt because of one attack and there is this little girl who you want to protect," Lust continued the insult on her former teammate.

"Let her go Lust, she is only a kid," Greed slowly got to his feet, 'man I hate this, but she is provoking me,' Greed closed his eyes, but was left with little choice, he charged towards Lust with the intentions of saving the little girl.

"Mr Greed, please help me!" the little girl cried for the former Shadow Lords assistance. Greed tackled Lust to the ground, forcing her to let go of the girl, he looked over to the girl and smiled at her, "get out of here now, find your mother," Greed instructed the girl, he was pushed off by the strength of Lust.

"Oh so you want to fight, too bad Greed," Lust stood up, dusting off her black robes.

Greed started laughing and noticed the fast emptying Pokemon Centre, "so let me ask you this question, why did you kill the doctor?" Greed curiously asked his former ally.

"He was nothing but a pawn," Lust retorted proudly at her own actions. Lust rushed towards Greed with her fists clenched, getting ready to punch her former ally

"Much like you and Envy," Greed replied as he grabbed Lust's arm and threw her towards the wall, the impact caused a gaping hole to form on the right side of the Pokemon Centre, Lust stood up yet again dusting her robes, "I see, so you are taking me lightly," Greed acknowledged the red haired member of the Shadow Lords.

"No, I am not, you are the one taking me lightly, I am stronger than most normal men out there, so you better take this fight Seriously Greed, or you will not survive to see how Pride is going to punish you," Lust informed the former Shadow Lord.

"Well since you are stronger than most normal men, I guess I better stop holding back," Greed started laughing at the, cracking his knuckles preparing to fight against Lust.

Meanwhile out northern parts of Snowpoint City Ash was running with Salvia behind him, Ash looked back to see Envy chasing after them, gritting his teeth Ash looked towards the cave entrance, "get in," Ash snapped at his friend.

"But Ash," Salvia tried to argue with the trainer.

"No buts just get in, you will be safer," Ash snapped at the blue haired royal, he turned to Envy who stopped at the cave entrance, "I guess you were too scared to face Greed," Ash remarked, seeing his enemy crossing his arms, standing in front of the cave entrance.

"Afraid of Greed? Not a chance, at the moment, he is struggling against Lust, she knows his weakness, he would never hit a woman," Envy pointed out happily. Thinking about the situation in Twinleaf Town, he started laughing at the trainer, "oh your revenge right, there is something you need to know," Envy started laughing at the raven haired man.

"Shut up, you worm," Ash snapped at the Shadow Lord, as the wind started to pick up.

"He destroyed half the town along with the people, it was enough to set up the Unova Soldiers as well as Greed," Envy pointed out with a smirk, leaving the trainer shaking with anger.

"You confess that it was your fault that Twinleaf Town was destroyed in one night, meaning you aren't only responsible for the death of Dawn, you are also to blame for the loss of my mother, Johanna, Pikachu and Piplup, keep your mouth shut, I don't more reasons to say that you have to die," Ash ordered the member of the shadow lords. Ash charged towards him, with his right fist raised, swinging at his enemy with all his anger, the Shadow Lord fell back with his hood falling, revealing short brown hair.

"That one was for free," Envy remarked arrogantly.

"No that was just the start, you will suffer," Ash snapped back, starting to glow blue.

Envy noticed the colour around him, "what is that?" Envy asked the man.

"This? Well, it is called Aura," Ash replied, his eyes started to flicker with shades of blue, scaring Envy.

Envy stepped back as Ash got closer to him, "wait a second, does that mean, you're are one of the legendary Aura Guardians?" Envy asked the trainer, but without warning Ash rushed towards him and unleashed a powerful burst of punches, 'dammit, he is fast, but has power to support it,' Envy thought as he jumped back to retreat from Ash.

"There is no escape for you," Ash coldly announced, walking slowly towards the Shadow Lord, "you know the difference between you and me?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord, raising his right hand again, clenching his fist.

"Easy, I have no guilt in what I do!" Envy stated with a proud tone, he tackled a surprised Ash to the ground stopping him from punching the Shadow Lord, the followed up by using Ash as a punching bag, forcing Ash to defend himself from the flurry of punches, "it wasn't that hard we rig the town with explosives, then we set the timer, amazing how fun it was to destroy an insignificant town," Envy arrogantly pointed out.

"It was fun to you?" Ash now seething even more, "I told you to keep your mouth shut, now all I will is rip that filthy tongue out of your mouth," tried to push Envy off, using his aura to throw his enemy off of him, Ash quickly got to his feet and ran towards the Shadow Lord, "don't mess with an Aura Guardian you filthy coward!" Ash yelled at the foe, his right fist glowing blue, swinging his right hand at the Shadow Lord, he sent the man flying towards the building.

Envy slid back, cleaning up some of the blood that was oozing from the corner of his mouth, 'an Aura Guardian, Pride said nothing about an Aura Guardian in the job description,' complained the angry member, it was then he felt a shockwave emanating from behind him, getting up from the crater of snow was Lust, "we are in trouble, we have an Aura Guardian in the mix," Envy informed his teammate.

Upon hearing this a panicked expression befell Lust, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists angrily, "what I thought they were extinct!" Lust snapped at her ally, feeling another shockwave pulsating from the trainer.

Greed looked on in amazement, he began to smirk at the trainer, "well, well, what have we here?" Greed wondered to himself, seeing the blue aura pushing the snow away from the battle, 'man I am glad I changed sides,' Greed thought as he began to shake in fear.

"Envy, we need to pull back, we need to tell Pride what we are up against," Lust instructed her teammate, looking over to Ash who was getting ready to attack.

"We need to fight this man in order to get to the princess," Envy argued back, getting ready to fight back against Ash and Greed.

"No, we have lost the advantage, we need to come up with a new plan," Lust tried to tell her teammate, but the pleas soon fell on death ears as she watched in horror, seeing Envy rushing towards Ash, but was soon sent flying back.

"Damn, how do we combat against an Aura Guardian?" Envy got back up slowly trying to figure out their next course of action against Ash.

"We retreat for now, we need to tell Pride about the Aura Guardian, we timed our attack too soon," Lust helped her ally up.

Ash watched them running away, he tried to run after them, but was stopped by Greed, "get out of the way Greed," Ash ordered the former Shadow Lord.

"Not now, we need to make sure the people are alright first, plus there is something I want to know," Greed informed Ash, looking around to see the people in fear of Ash, "you let your anger get the better of you, now you have also revealed who you are, an Aura Guardian to the rest of the people of this city," Greed tried his best to reason with Ash.

"You are letting them get away!" Ash yelled at Greed, but the Shadow Lord tried his best to stop Ash.

"If we chase after them now, we will lose the advantage, here we can make a new plan, concerning your abilities," Greed whispered as he looked over to the distance, knowing that Lust and Envy were no longer in the city, "plus they won't get far, most likely hiding in Lake Acuity," Greed pointed out as he spotted a narrow blood trail leading away from the city, 'judging from the attack, Envy might have a few broken ribs and Lust well, I think I broke her spirit, I cannot wait for those two to finally be eliminated,' Greed thought to himself.

Salvia emerged from the cave seeing that Ash had calmed down after the short battle, she walked up to Ash with a relieved smile on her face, "so what happened?" Salvia asked the two allies.

"They are injured, but they aren't going anywhere in a hurry, soon it will be time for us to make a counter attack," Greed replied as he turned towards the people, he started walking towards the almost destroyed Pokemon Centre, "come on you two we better get to work and rebuild the Pokemon Centre," Greed instructed his allies.

Meanwhile at the Lake not too far away from Snowpoint City, Lust and Envy entered a cave to heal from their injuries, "how did we find the only Aura Guardian alive? I thought the previous Shadow Lords destroyed them over a hundred years ago," the injured Envy punched the cave wall in frustration.

Lust grabbed her phone and started to dial the number, "yes Pride, we have encountered a problem," Lust started talking over the phone, "have you heard of the Aura Guardians? Well we have encountered one, and Envy, well he had to fight him," Lust confirmed the problem to her leader, after informing the leader about the new development, she heard her leader yelling out his frustrations.

"What is the plan to stop Greed and now an Aura Guardian?" Envy asked her teammate grasping his side in pain.

"Yes, yes of course," Lust ended the call, she looked over to Envy who was hoping he would get his revenge on Ash, "we are to retreat even further, to Lilycove City," Lust instructed her teammate.

"Dammit, it will take us weeks based on our injuries," Envy complained with a punch on the ground, he looked out to the exit, the image of an explosion of aura etched in his mind, "so we can now confirm we have an Aura Guardian," Envy reminded Lust of the current situation.

"Yes, we don't have a lot of time, we need to rest up then head out," Lust replied with a frown.

Back at Snowpoint City, Ash was sitting at the table with people looking at him after the recent fight, Salvia approached him nervously, "Ash, you seem to be shaken up," Salvia's concerns started to show for Ash.

Ash looked over to the phone to see Greed talking to someone, all he could spot was a young woman with long brown hair, "I over reacted again," Ah whispered with a deep breath.

At the phone Greed continued his conversation, "you know we have a new powerful ally," Greed informed his ally.

"Is that so? How powerful?" the woman asked Greed with a smile.

"He is an Aura Guardian," Greed replied with a smirk, he glanced over his left shoulder to see Ash eating his meal.

"An Aura Guardian? I thought they were all wiped out by the previous Shadow Lords," the woman stated with a surprised expression.

"So did I, but I was surprised to see that Ash Ketchum is indeed an Aura Guardian," Greed explained to his ally.

"Then I have to meet him," the woman replied with a smirk.

"Well are you a little busy Queen Hilda? I mean, there is no way you can get to Sinnoh in just a few days," Greed replied to the woman known as Hilda.

"I need to meet the Aura Guardian, plus I want to avenge the death of N, so defeating the Shadow Lords is one of my missions," Hilda informed Greed calmly.

"Fine, we will be in meet you in Jubilife City," Greed ended the call and turned towards Ash, he got up and walked over to the duo, "alright we need to plan for the counter attack, plus we also have another ally to meet up with," Greed looked down at the angry trainer.

* * *

><p><strong>With the new developments and the chance to meet the next royal, Will Ash and Greed defeat Lust and Envy? Or will they escape yet again? <strong>

**Next time Chapter 7: Cold Aura.**


	7. Cold Aura

**Chapter 7: Cold Aura**

_**Summary: **__the final showdown against Lust and Envy, how will Ash control his Aura perfectly as his anger overcomes him? Read and find out._

* * *

><p>Sitting at the table Ash slammed his fists down angrily at one of the comments that Greed had made, "so that is what you now see me as, you find out I can control Aura and now you see me as a living breathing weapon?" Ash asked the former Shadow Lord with his eyes glowing blue, trying his best not to yell and scare the people who were sheltering in the Pokemon Centre.<p>

"Listen Ash, you are the only Aura Guardian left, you need to remember the Seven Shadow Lords need to be killed, me included," Greed finished his sentence with a sigh.

"But why?" Salvia asked the Shadow Lord with a shocked tone.

"Because no matter what, I am still a Shadow Lord, but I intend to die the way I choose, and it will not be by your hands," Greed looked over to a seething Ash.

"So you will choose your own fate," Ash snapped back at the Shadow Lord, Greed nodded his head with a broad smile.

"Listen Ash, you are to the only Aura Guardian left, you have to do something," Greed tried to plead with Ash, "being an Aura Guardian means you have…" Greed started but was soon interrupted by the Sinnoh Princess.

"Enough Greed!" Salvia yelled at the Shadow Lord, she looked over to Ash whom was looking at his food, "Ash is not a weapon, he is a human, I refuse to treat Ash in that manner," Salviawalked towards a seat and sat next to Ash, "hey, I know the true you, there is no need to be sad and you have to try and find a way of going forward," Salvia tried her best to pick Ash up from his downward spiral.

"Thanks princess, you are proving to be a true friend," Ash thanked the royal.

"No problem Ash, I will help you out no matter how bad the situation is," Salvia quietly assured the trainer who started eating his food.

"You seem to know how to calm him down," Greed complimented the young royal, he walked towards the table with his own plate of food, taking a chair and sitting down, "but right now we need to figure out how we can defeat Lust and Envy," Greed openly stated the intentions of the group.

"It is great that a lot of people will not be in the way," Salvia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I am relieved about that as well," Greed confessed happily.

"The next time we face them, they will have a plan as well," Ash informed the two friends.

"That I am aware of, it isn't like Lust to not have a back-up plan, after all I have never defeated her in a game of Chess," Greed proudly stated with a chuckle, "but I could also tell she was thrown way off guard because of you, she didn't expect an Aura Guardian to be around," Greed pointed out the situation that Lust and Envy were in, he started eating his food, while Ash remained quiet.

"Yes, but next time, they will be prepared for Ash's aura abilities," Salvia commented as she focused on Ash who silently sat next to her.

Greed stopped eating for a moment and lowered his fork, "yes, that is true, so this is what we are going to do, we are going to use the initial plan, I will pretend to defect, but there will be a slight difference, Ash you wait for the signal to attack," Greed instructed the two friends calmly.

Salvia noticed Ash clenching his fists and looked away again, "alright, but what is the signal?" Salvia asked the former member of the Shadow Lords.

"I will just say, no we should execute her in front of Pride and her father," Greed informed the princess and Ash of the line that would be used as a signal, "from there I will take Salvia to a safe distance then Ash and I will proceed to destroy the first two members of the Shadow Lords," Greed informed Ash and Salvia of the plan, Greed turned his attention to Ash who turned away and left the duo to watch him getting upset, 'oh man now he is pissed,' Greed thought to himself, it didn't take long for Salvia to get up and follow Ash outside, she grabbed her jacket and rushed outside.

Salvia looked around to see if she could find Ash, "why did Greed have to say that to Ash?" Salvia asked herself with a saddened expression.

Ash walked to the scene where he fought Envy, thinking about how he exploded with Aura, "is Greed telling the truth? I mean look at this, did I really cause this much damage?" Ash kept reminding himself, seeing the houses that were flattened and the trees snapped like twigs in every direction, then his thoughts quickly turned to the scared people in the area, "I also scared the people, the very same people I needed to make sure were never to get hurt," Ash approached the crater thinking more about how he scared the Shadow Lord.

Salvia looked around and eventually found Ash at the scene of his first confrontation with Envy, hearing him talking to himself about how he felt about his Aura abilities, Salvia watched from behind a tree listening with concern in her mind, "great, he is beating himself up even more," Salvia whispered as she started to feel guilty about her own weakness.

It was then a little girl approached Ash, she was looking for her plush toy, hoping that she would get help, Salvia watched Ash helping the upset girl, hoping that he would be alright to do so, 'he hasn't been himself lately,' Salvia thought while keeping her eye on Ash.

"So where did you put it?" Ash asked kindly, trying to his best to remain calm, Ash looked up to see a spirit standing in front of where a house once stood, "this way," Ash told the girl quietly, as he got closer to the house, he noticed the apparition vanishing at the same time, "what does that spirit want?" Ash asked himself, trying to figure out his own mystery.

"Excuse me mister, this is where my old house was," the little girl tugged at the Aura Guardian's left arm, informing him of the location of the girl's house.

Ash knelt down and cleared up the snow, revealing a small plush toy, "is this it?" Ash asked softly.

The girl watched Ash pick up the plush toy and clean it up for her, "thank you sir," the girl hugged the trainer happily before running off to find her mother and father.

Salvia with her back turned to a tree, started smiling to herself, she glanced around the tree to see Ash walking slowly away from the house, 'he is looking after me, not only that he isn't happy, but still makes other people happy around him, he is hurting because he now thinks he is a weapon to defeat the Shadow Lords,' Salvia thought to herself, she walked away towards the Pokemon Centre, taking one more look back, she smiled at the trainer and seeing him sitting down in the snow, "Dawn, I finally realise what you see in him," Salvia admitted to herself, looking towards the pokemon centre, she covered her mouth with her cheeks starting to turn red, "what did I just say? I shouldn't have said that," Salvia told herself, looking back once more hoping that Ash wouldn't have heard her own admission.

Greed tapped her on the shoulder and quickly noticed the blush running across her face, "hey why are you blushing?" Greed asked the princess, curious about his friend's blush, he glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Ash was in her line of sight, 'oh I see, she has a crush on Ash,' Greed immediately jumped the gun.

Salvia ran off towards the medical facility hoping that she wasn't being followed, 'this shouldn't have happened, I shouldn't have a crush on Ash,' Salvia tried to deny her new found crush.

Greed watched the princess enter the Pokemon Centre but decided to remain quiet about what he had discovered, "yo Ash, we need to head out now and we cannot let Lust and Envy get too far away!" Greed yelled out to Ash who was balling some of the snow, "Ash, I am sorry for calling you a living weapon," Greed apologised to the Aura guardian, "I shouldn't have called you that, Salvia is right, you're human, that's all that counts," Greed balled up his fists in anger directed at himself.

"No it's fine Greed, I mean look what happened here," Ash pointed in direction around him, showing Greed what he was capable of, "I caused all this damage," Ash admitted to the aura burst that destroyed the local area, "I was so angry at Envy, he admitted to blowing up half of Twinleaf Town, I just lost it," Ash started hitting the ground, feeling like he let everyone down.

"Yeah I know, I tried to stop Envy from blowing up Twinleaf Town, that was when I tried to destroy him and I failed," Greed walked up to Ash and sat next to him, "hey, you can't be moping about, we need to stop him and the rest of the Shadow Lords," Greed informed Ash with a smile.

"Greed what is your intention?" Ash asked the former enemy.

"Me? To enjoy the finer things in life, food, alcohol, women, parties, money and most of all having a shit load of friends," Greed answered Ash, laughing at his own greed for a moment, he balled up a pile of snow and tossed it into the crater, "Ash, like these people, you can rebuild your life, it will be difficult, but some day you will find someone who will make you happy again," Greed tried his best to comfort the person he takes as a friend, getting up slowly and walking away, Greed took a chance to smile at his ally, 'little does he know, the person I could be mentioning to is the princess,' Greed thought while thinking about the moment he bumped into the royal and seeing her blushing.

"Greed, no one can replace Dawn," Ash informed the former Shadow Lord.

"Yes, that is true, but you cannot expect other people to be just like your fiancé, everyone is different," Greed wisely told Ash calmly, walking back towards where the princess was heading, "we will enact the plan soon, this time we have the advantage," Greed informed Ash who nodded in approval.

Ash waited for a few minutes, he looked over her left shoulder to see Salvia and Greed leaving the medical facility, Slowly standing up Ash turned towards the direction of the final battle with Lust and Envy, 'I need to make sure this doesn't fail, but at least the people of this city will be out of harm's way,' Ash thought, taking a sigh of relief, but also knew that the princess was going to be in danger, 'Greed, Salvia better not get hurt,' Ash started thinking about the safety of his friend.

**(2 Hours later)**

"Alright they are still here, we need to move quickly," Greed whispered quietly, he noticed that the princess still wasn't feeling one hundred percent, but also knew that this was their last chance to rid the world of Lust and Envy, "listen once Ash arrives, you need to go somewhere safer," Greed instructed the princess.

"Right, but what about Ash? Will he be alright?" Salvia asked the former member of the Shadow Lords.

Greed looked down at the blue haired princess and nodded, "yeah, I will make sure of it," Greed answered back with a smirk, he looked back to see Ash approaching them, 'good, this final confrontation will be so interesting with him around.

Inside the cave Lust and Envy were preparing to leave when they spotted Greed walking in with the princess her hands tied up, "so it was you who captured the princess, nicely done Greed," Envy pointed out, but Lust remained suspicious of Greed suddenly showing up in the cave with the Princess.

"Why did you show up with the princess so suddenly?" Lust asked the enemy with a serious tone.

"Oh come on, surely you know I am good at tricking other people," Greed tried to convince Lust of his intentions, "I tricked the princess and the Aura Guardian that I was on their side," Greed acted more convincingly, but still Lust was getting more annoyed at the tone of Greed. He was walking closer hoping that Ash would be ready to ambush the Shadow Lords in front of him, 'oh man, I don't think Lust or Envy are going to be convinced much longer,' Greed thought as the princess eyed him for a moment.

"I will try to act the part," Salvia whispered, but only enough to let Greed know what she was intending.

"How could you Greed? We started to trust you, didn't know you were still working for the enemy," Salvia did her best to act in a convincing manner.

"Shut up and keep going," Greed ordered the princess as they got closer to the injured duo.

Outside Ash was waiting for the signal to attack, hearing Salvia and Greed arguing, he immediately knew that Salvia was trying her best to act the part, but knew there wasn't much longer to go, "come on hurry up," Ash hissed in anger.

"No, we should execute her in front of her father and Pride," Greed's words echoed from the cave.

Upon hearing those words Ash sprang into action and ran into the cave, "now this is where it ends!" Ash yelled at the two Shadow Lords.

"Well, that is true, Lust and Envy," Greed agreed with Ash, he untied the princess and allowed her to run off, "now it is our turn to ambush you both," Greed announced, grabbing Envy by the collar and throwing him towards the cave wall, "now it is time to end you," Greed sneered at his victim.

Ash started showing his aura while Lust glared at the young man, "great this again," Lust hissed as she closed her eyes, seeing an image of someone from Ash's past, seeing the bluenette that made him happy, 'I see, so there is a woman by the name of Dawn, he loves her and still does, yet she was killed in one of our attacks,' Lust thought to herself, coming up with a counter attack.

"Ash don't let her use your weakness!" Greed informed Ash, defending himself from the attacks from the injured Envy.

"So, she is your greatest weakness, thanks Greed for making it easier," Lust glanced over her shoulder, she then turned her attention to Ash, "you know, just like you I have a special ability, I can change my appearance to the person my victim loves," Lust explained to Ash, as she started glowing in a bright light.

Ash cover his eyes to protect his vision from the blinding light, "what is she doing?" Ash asked himself as the light started to dissipate.

Greed pushed Envy back towards the wall, but was soon kicked off by his injured foe, he fell back and soon noticed the light, "oh no Ash!" Greed yelled out, he tried running towards the light in hopes to stop Lust from completing the change, but as he got closer he was stopped by Envy who had tripped him over, pinning him down he started punching Greed with a flurry of punches.

"Hello Ash," Lust appeared from the light this time with the appearance of Ash's lost love.

Ash's blue glow vanished as he started to step back, his eyes now widened as he and trying to digest what he was seeing, "Ash, get a hold of yourself, that isn't Dawn!" Greed tried his best to inform Ash, but was being him constantly from Envy, bleeding from the corner of his mouth and trying his hardest to move his arms in order to throw Envy off.

"Don't listen to him Ash, Greed is trying to trick you," Lust continued to use Dawn as a medium to stop Ash.

Ash continued to hesitate as the blue haired woman continued to approach him, 'what's happening?' Ash started to question the situation.

"Come on Ash, do you remember that special day?" Lust continued her act on Ash, still maintaining her appearance as Dawn, "I am certain Empoleon is waiting for us," she said with a gentle smile.

Suddenly Ash snapped and charged towards the blue haired woman, "you fool, Dawn never evolved her Piplup," Ash tackled the woman who appeared as Dawn to the ground, but was soon pushed back by Lust as she reverted back to her normal form, Ash hit the cave wall next to Salvia who was watching Ash struggle.

"Come on Ash, you know better than anyone that Dawn cannot be brought back," Salvia helped Ash back to his feet. Ash looked at the ground feeling hurt by having his feelings played on, "do you know what lust means?" Salvia asked calmly, glaring at the woman who was laughing at the injured trainer, "it means to hold excessive desires for the person you love," Salvia informed Ash of the enemy's name.

"I see, but what am I supposed to do?" Ash asked, seeing the princess knelt down next to him.

"It will be tough Ash, but you have to let go of your love for Dawn, otherwise it will get you killed," Salvia got back up while telling Ash the honest truth, she started walking up to Lust who was laughing at the man who was still feeling down, "she used your desire for the return and love of Dawn, but she knows that by using it you would be unwilling to make a stand, but I know full well, that Dawn would never take advantage of you," Salvia glanced over her left shoulder, moments afterwards she turned towards Lust and raised her right hand.

Ash from a distance watched Salvia slap Lust causing the woman to grow angry with the princess, it wasn't long before Envy jumped to his teammate's side, "hey you leave Lust alone," Envy ordered the princess, as he was about to punch the princess, Ash jumped in and grabbed Envy's fist. "hey you let me go," Envy demanded the Aura Guardian, with fear etched on his face he noticed the trainer growing even angrier, his eyes glowing blue he suddenly felt his fist being tightened as the pain coursed through his body.

With Envy screaming out in pain, Ash started to gain a blue aura, raising his left hand, he balled it into a tight fist, in a sudden move Envy was sent flying from the location towards the wall, Ash was quick to turn his gaze to Lust who was shaking in fear, before she could move Ash's left elbow made contact sending her towards the entrance of the cave.

"That was fast, his aura is making him stronger," Lust cleared up some of the blood coming from her nose, she landed safely but was stopped by Greed who was barring the exit of the cave, "dammit, we cannot get out of here, Envy and I are too injured to continue this fight," Lust glared at her former teammate.

"What's the matter Lust? The advantage you thought you had is no longer there, well that is your fault," Greed blamed his former ally for the situation she was in, "now what was I going to do?" Greed tried to remind himself of his intentions, placing his hand on his chin, "oh right, I was going to rip your hair by its roots," Greed grabbed the red hair of the helpless lust, "normally this goes against my policies, but since you're a Shadow Lord, I am willing to make an exception," Greed sneered at Lust who was trying to pry Greed's grip on her hair.

Lust looked into the eyes of Greed who seemed more carefree about hurting the Shadow Lord, "You have to defeat all seven Shadow Lords, that means you," Lust struggled to complete her sentence while trying to build her strength back up, "you kill us Greed there is no going back, Pride…. Will have no hesitations in killing you."

Bring his right hand back and Lust's hair still in his left hand, "going back?" Greed asked the former ally, angry at Lust who was shivering in fear, "who said I want to go back to your side?!" Greed asked before unleashing a vicious punch on Lust that sent her flying towards one of the pillars in the cave, "I never want to re-join the Shadow Lords! So you and the rest of the Shadow Lords can rot in hell!" Greed informed Lust before she was impaled by the pillar, her hair still in his left hand, he let go as Lust looked on in fear and her life force quickly fading.

"Damn you Greed….. you will pay for this…." Lust started to fade as she continued to die.

"Envy and the rest will be joining you very soon, then I will make sure the Shadow Lords never rise again," Greed informed the dying Lust.

"You…..will, die….too," the last words came from Lust who faded away due to her injuries.

"I know that, but I will die with honour," Greed turned to Envy who was staring in shock at what had happened.

"No Lust, it can't be, Greeeeeeeeed!" Envy yelled out furiously, he continued to seethe as he tried to charge towards Greed who had shown no guilt in killing his fellow Shadow Lord, "you will pay for this Greed!" Envy yelled out in anger, but as he got closer Ash appeared in front of him.

"You want revenge? Well so do I, you killed my future wife, but if it is consolation you will be joining Lust in hell," Ash informed the Shadow Lord, punching him in the stomach, causing the enemy to collapse to his knees, gasping for air, Ash kneed the enemy in the face as he was trying to recover, Ash ran up to him, grabbing his throat, Ash started punching the Shadow Lord Envy, multiple times until he started to go out of control.

Salvia was watching the scene unfold and her fear started to overcome her, "Ash, stop this, it's over now!" Salvia demanded, but Ash ignored her and continued to strike Envy with a flurry of punches, "no Ash, please stop!" Salvia yelled, but as her fear overcame her, she used a small ounce of courage and grabbed Ash's arm, stopping him from punching the almost dead Envy.

"You are…a monster," Envy started laughing at the Aura guardian, starting to fade away from his fatal injuries.

Ash let go of his enemy, he watched the Shadow Lord fall to the ground laughing at him, mocking him, "no, you are the monster, I got my revenge, now I need to destroy the rest of your kind," Ash glared coldly at his enemy.

Salvia let go of Ash's hand and stepped back, breathing a sigh of relief, "I hope he doesn't do that again, but I also hope that he doesn't lose himself," Salvia whispered as she watched Envy trying to get back up.

"You know, I hope this revenge of yours was worth it, you have made an eternal enemy Aura Guardian," Envy fell back to the ground and started laughing at the Aura Guardian, dropping the phone showing the number of the palace, "Pride, he heard everything," Envy's laughter faded as he died with a smile on his face and his disappearance from the cave

Greed walked over to Ash and trampled the phone, "there is no going back for either of us, I hope to never hit a woman again," Greed stated with a saddened tone, he turned towards the entrance of the cave, he looked back to see Salvia comforting Ash, "I am going on ahead, I will meet you both in Jubilife City," Greed informed his now permanent allies.

Ash taking a deep breath, kneeling on the ground, "revenge? Revenge doesn't feel good," Ash confessed to the blue haired royal.

Salvia put her right hand on his left shoulder, "I know, revenge is overrated Ash, even if you get your revenge, you will still feel empty afterwards," the princess explained to Ash.

Ash got up slowly and started moving towards the entrance, his thoughts were of the enemies he defeat with the help of Greed, "you're right princess, but there is still four more to go," Ash added to the royal's comments, he exited the cave with Salvia looking on.

Salvia looked around as the cold breeze started to filter into the cave, she noticed a shadow watching Ash leave the cave, "that spirit, is it following us?" Salvia asked herself, keeping her eye on the spirit as it started to vanish again, "is it watching over Ash? And why?" Salvia started to question the intentions of the spirt, she slowly got back up to her feet and walked out and she glanced over the shoulder wondering why Ash was being followed by the spirit.

Salvia exited as she was greeted by the waiting Ash, "thanks for stopping me," Ash thanked his friend, before walking ahead, leaving the princess staring at him, "come on, time to head off," Ash whispered, Ash looked at the sky seeing the flying type pokemon, thinking about the fight that was still ahead of him and the princess.

"You do know that someone or something is following you," Salvia reminded Ash, but the trainer ignored her and continued on. Salvia remained quiet and wondered what to say next, the mountain in the background with trees in front of her the clouds grew in the dark and the snow started falling again. 'It will not be easy for him, but I will make sure that Ash becomes a better person,' Salvia made her resolve, standing side by side with Ash, she looked up to see him with a unwavering expression.

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><p><em><strong>AN: <strong>_**Now before I go on, there is something I need to point out, I know this chapter sent the wrong message, I am not endorsing violence against women and it is a cowardly act, pure and simple.**

**This story is far from over, there are still four more Shadow Lords in play, so what will happen there? Well the next chapter will take place a week later in Jubilife City, and yes I am developing Salvia's crush slowly, it isn't a full blown crush, but it will continue to grow slowly but surely.**

**Next time chapter 8: Greed VS Gluttony 1.**

**Taking the chance to lower the rating to T, but this is still borderline M, it will not change what I am working on in this story.**


	8. Greed VS Gluttony 1

**Chapter 8: Greed VS Gluttony 1**

_**Summary: **__with their first victory against the Shadow Lords comes a new meeting between the King and Queen of the Unova region, meanwhile Greed is confronted by another Shadow Lord, this time he is on his own against Gluttony._

_**Hilbert: 21**_

_**Hilda: 21**_

* * *

><p>With a week passing since the victory against Lust and Envy Ash and Salvia re-enter Jubilife City, hoping to meet with Greed who was instrumental in the victory against his former allies, scanning the city which was largely unscathed from the war against the Shadow Lords, "Um Ash, we haven't slept for two days, maybe we should have a rest," Salvia suggested, trying to get Ash to take a break.<p>

"You know the princess is right," a female voice rang through the air. A woman with long brown hair wearing a white tank top with a black vest and denim shorts approached the duo with a smile, "glad we found you, it took a week to get to Canalave City and another few days to get here," the woman complained about the journey, before a man with short brown hair, wearing a blue jacket and jeans caught up with his wife, "what took you so long Hilbert?" the woman asked the man with a hint of sass.

"Well Hilda, it would have been easier if we slept last night instead of you rushing to Jubilife City," Hilbert informed the young woman.

Hilda got in Ash's face and looked at him with a great hint of curiosity, "hmmmmm, so you are the Aura Guardian Greed was talking about," Hilda inspected Ash with Salvia watching mere centimetres away, "must admit, you're quite handsome," Hilda winked at the trainer with a playful smile.

'What? She can't say that about Ash,' Salvia showing signs of being visibly upset with Hilda's comment.

"Not to worry, I am already married anyway, so I cannot take Ash for myself," the queen started joking causing Salvia to cross her arms in anger, she was about to turn away, before Hilda noticed something that she caught at the corner of her eye, 'oh it seems like someone got a little jealous,' Hilda thought while trying to hide her cheeky smile from Ash and Salvia.

"You know, I don't have the time to waste here, I need to find Greed and destroy the rest of the Shadow Lords," Ash pushed Hilda aside and walked a head to the Pokemon Centre of the major city.

"Wow, why is he this cold?" Hilda asked with her cheeks puffed up, her arms crossed and showing visible annoyance with Ash's actions.

"Well Queen Hilda, he lost his family and his fiancé because of the Shadow Lords," Salvia answered the queen's question.

"I see, so his cold demeanour is because of that," Hilda watched Ash approaching the Pokemon Centre.

Salvia bowed her head in sadness and took a deep breath, "he blamed himself for the death of his fiancé, but only recently found out who was really to blame, he got his revenge, but he now has an empty feeling," Salvia explained the Aura Guardian's situation.

**(Hearthome City)**

Sipping down a glass of wine Greed was at the bar eating another meal, grabbing a nother glass of wine, he raised the glass into the air, almost drunk from drinking, "ah this is for me not going back," Greed celebrated taking another sip of his glass of wine, with a broad smile on his face he started feeling a little giddy after the amount of alcohol he had consumed, "ah the finer things in life, would never have gotten this with the previous bastards I was associated with," Greed started laughing at his own freedom.

The bartender approached the drinking Shadow Lord, a concerned expression plastered all over his face, "excuse me sir, but I think you have had a little too much to drink," the bartender informed Greed.

Greed started laughing as he poured in another glass of wine, "what? No way, I haven't enough," Greed started sipping his wine again.

"Goofing off again are we Greed," A familiar presence filled the air in the bar.

Greed's expression quickly changed, from his carefree tone to a more serious tone, "Gluttony, what in the hell are you doing here?" Greed asked the Shadow Lord.

"I am here to take back to Pride, I need to tell you, I don't have to bring you back conscious," Gluttony informed the drinking enemy.

"Really?" Greed asked, grabbing his wine bottle, "well then I better not get captured," Greed stated breaking the wine glass on the bar and started attacking Gluttony with the broken glass with wine dripping from the jagged part, Gluttony jumped back evading the attack from the former ally, "you move pretty fast for someone your size," Greed stated with a smirk, as a table was sent flying towards him.

"You killed Lust and Envy, all Pride wants is to execute you," Gluttony confirmed the intentions of Pride.

"Let me guess, he wants to behead me?" Greed asked the former ally, evading tables and chairs, "I would rather have my head on my shoulders," Greed charged through the barrage, as he got closer he was sent flying back toward the bar with a lariat from Gluttony, "not bad, but still not good enough," Greed leapt back to his feet, dropping the half bottle on the ground and rushing towards the Shadow Lord.

"You know, you will be made to pay," Gluttony watched Greed running towards him. Gluttony was tackled through the door of the bar leading them to continue the fight outside the city, "so you don't harm the people, Pride was right, you are way too soft," Gluttony pushed Greed away from him and glared at the man whom he considered his friend.

Greed started laughing at the former ally, he stood with his back to the bar, clenching his fists ready to make another stand against his former comrade, "soft?" Greed started running towards Gluttony, with his fist readied, he punched the Shadow Lord with everyone in the streets witnessing the increasingly volatile situation.

"Is that the best you have?" Gluttony asked the enemy as a smile started running across his face.

Greed watched Gluttony lower his head as his effortlessly pushed his arm down, "what? No way!" Greed yelled out in shock, he jumped back as the former ally pushed him further back into a wall with a kick to the stomach. Greed fell to the ground with the speed of Gluttony, surprising him greatly, "great this fat bastard is fast," Greed whispered while trying his best to keep his guard up.

"It is no use, I am the fastest member of the Shadow Lords," Gluttony informed the hurting member of the Shadow Lords, Gluttony was sent flying towards one of the buildings this time he crushed causing parts of the building to fall on him.

Greed spun around with his left elbow directed at Gluttony who fell back after taking a powerful hit, "score, now to escape, I cannot fight him right now," Greed started limping away from the battle against his former comrade, hoping that the people didn't follow him, he looked back hoping that Gluttony wasn't following him as well, "that wasn't enough to keep him down," Greed whispered in frustration, but didn't waste any time to escape from the quick fight.

The rubble from the fight exploded from the area, with Gluttony coming out from underneath the rubble, "Greed, oh Greed, where are you? You cannot escape from me!" Gluttony taunted his former ally.

"Shit, I would have thought he would have cried under that rubble, cry like he always does," Greed hissed while ignoring his foe.

"Hey Greed, show yourself, unless you want people from this city to die!" Gluttony kept calling for Greed who was trying to ignore the threat.

"Damn you Gluttony, how dare you threaten the people of this city," Greed whispered, with no choice Greed turned around and walked out of the alleyway, knowing that he was heading back into a tough situation.

Upon seeing Greed, Gluttony pulled back his hood revealing a man with long black hair, holding up a young man with his right hand covering his face, "so Greed, you're still here," Gluttony taunted his former ally.

"Gluttony, put the man down, this has nothing to with him!" Greed demanded but the enemy started laughing, taking the bag of food away from him, "that is awfully original of you fatty, stealing food from people who cannot defend themselves," Greed shook his head in shame, watching him gulp down the food, allowing enough time for Greed to save the person, running up to the man, he grabbed him and pulled him away from the Shadow lord's grasp, he looked at the man and nodded, "go get out of here now," Greed instructed the man.

"That was the main course," an angry Gluttony reminded the injured foe.

"You disgust me," Greed confessed his displeasure of Gluttony's attitude, watching the man running away not daring to look back. 'Good, but there has to be a way to get this moron out of the city and away from the people,' Greed thought as he started to gain a black aura around him, "you know, holding back against you has all but ended," Greed stated while rushing towards his foe, punching the Shadow Lord and pushing him back at the same time, but the attacks seem to be having no effect.

"Come on, surely you can do better than this," Gluttony continued to taunt the attacking enemy.

"This blob is just absorbing my attacks," Greed hissed before jumping back, as he landed he was sent flying towards a building after taking a powerful lariat from Gluttony.

"And you were one of the people who defeated Lust and Envy," Gluttony grabbed Greed by the throat as he struggled to maintain his consciousness.

"Screw you and Pride, I would rather be dead than join you again," Greed whispered while trying to regain his strength, Greed kicked the Shadow Lord and knocked him back, now bleeding from the cut on his forehead and down his right arm, "damn, my right arm is broken," Greed grasped his right arm and tried to look for an escape route, "I cannot continue this fight," the anger of Greed mounted, he continued to scan the area for a road away.

Gluttony watched Greed running away, but as he ran off, he received a call, "yes Pride, I will let him go for now, you want me to head to Jubilife City?" Gluttony asked his superior, "alright, I will return to Arrowroot, the time to enact our plan will soon start?" Gluttony asked Pride to which he was given an affirmative.

"Damn, that Blimp really beat the shit out of me and now they are going to enact their plan," Greed stated while running off, with his broken arm next to him, "better warn Ash and the princess," Greed ran towards the city to the west.

"Greed you are lucky, soon the princess, the Aura Guardian and you will soon die," Gluttony told himself with great joy in the situation, turning away from the scared people he walked towards the exit of the city.

**(Jubilife City)**

Ash looked out the window with Salvia, Hilda and Hilbert looking on in concern, "that was odd, I felt this dark aura, but now it is gone," Ash asked himself his fists clenched and shaking at the same time, "was that Greed fighting a Shadow Lord?" Ash asked himself.

"You know Ash, right now, I can also sense that something happened in Hearthome City," Hilda told her new friend with a concerned tone, she turned to Hilbert who was trusting of his young wife, "Ash you can sense aura right, well I have psychic abilities as well, sadly it is only limited in power, but it is enough to tell me something bad has happened to Greed," Hilda explained to Ash who punched the wall next to him.

"What should we do?" Ash asked the brunette, glancing over his right shoulder.

Hilbert stood up and pulled out a map from his backpack, "well I suggest that we split up, Hilda and I head to Eterna City, Ash and Salvia, you head to Oreburgh City," Hilbert informed the group of the plan, pointing to the map of where they should be heading to.

"Hilbert, why are we heading to Eterna?" Hilda asked as her husband with a concerned tone.

"Well, I would be best that we go separately as we continue our battles against the Shadow Lords," Hilbert replied with a smirk, rolling up the map, he placed it back into his bag and walked towards the exit of the Pokemon Centre.

Hilda walked up to Ash and nodded at him, "it was nice to meet you Ash," Hilda gratefully told Ash with a bright smile, she looked over to Hilbert and let out a sigh, "of only I met you years ago, I would have….nah forget it, but I still admit, you are a handsome man," Hilda winked at Ash causing the princess to get a little angry at the Unova queen, Hilda noticed the reaction again and smiled at the princess. Hilda approached the younger royal and leant in, "I see you have a crush on Ash," Hilda whispered as princess stepped back in shock.

"N-n…..no I don't," Salvia tried to deny the claims of the Unova queen.

With a cynical expression Hilda placed her right hand over her chin, "ah ha, sure, I believe you," Hilda teased the princess.

Ash was at the exit with Hilbert preparing to head out to go to their next destination, "hey you two hurry up," the two men called out to their respective travelling companions in unison.

Hilda walked ahead with Salvia turning her attention to only Ash, 'it has been two weeks, yet…I still have no idea what to think about, I am scared of Ash and his anger, yet he is still a gentle person,' Salvia thought to herself her blue eyes glued on Ash.

"Princess I don't have all day," Ash called to the young royal, exiting the medical facility

**(Arrowroot Town)**

Pride walked into the throne room, lowered his hood revealing a man with no hair, his eyes were black and a dark smirk, "you know sire, your daughter is gathering an army as we speak, she intends to destroy this kingdom, assassinate you," Pride informed the king of Sinnoh.

"I still don't believe it, my daughter a traitor to the Sinnoh Kingdom," the king clenched his fist s in anger, trying to figure out why his daughter would do such a thing, the king looked up to Pride who was now exhibiting a more serious expression, "what if you are lying to me?" the king asked the Shadow Lord.

"I promised to bring your wife back, we are getting closer to doing that, but right now you need to protect your kingdom from the malicious princess," Pride started to play on the king's emotions.

"Very well, tell me where is she heading?" The king asked the Shadow Lord leader.

"Princess Salvia is heading to Pastoria City," Pride gave the information to Salvia's father.

"Very well, I will deal with my daughter in person," the king decreed, getting out of his seat and walking towards the only exit of the throne room.

Pride bowed his head, hiding his smile, "yes sire," Pride acknowledged, raising his head and glaring at the Sinnoh King, 'that's right, soon this kingdom will fall, the chess pieces are coming into play, and soon it will be checkmate,' Pride followed the king and looked back to see his own vision, 'very soon this throne will burn to the ground,' Pride thought as he walked up to the king, "I have something I need to sort out, I will be in Pastoria City soon after you get there," Pride whispered, as he looked back to see the secret entrance way.

"Alright, don't take too long Pride," the king issued his command.

"But of course, I wouldn't want to miss out on all the fun," Pride answered back, turning towards the secret entrance way, he glanced over his shoulder making sure that no one was watching his actions, "of course I will be there, to see the light in your eyes fade as well as seeing your daughter taking her last breath,' the leader of the Shadow Lords told himself of the final act of his plan.

Pride walked down the stairs turning on the light, seeing that the secret entrance was closed, walking down he heard the yelling of the other Shadow Lord down the stairs, "calm down Wrath, I am about to let you run wild," Pride walked up to the door, seeing the red eyes of the furious Shadow Lord.

"You promised me that I would be able to destroy a city!" Wrath yelled at his leader.

"How about I let you destroy a kingdom?" Pride suggested with a smirk, placing his hand on the lock, "but they will be in a city, there will also be an Aura Guardian and Greed," Pride pointed out the people that will be in the city, "the king will also be there, your mission is the destroy all of them and if you want, you can destroy the entire city," Pride instructed his confined ally.

"So, you finally start the plan," Wrath enquired, he walked up to the door showing off his blonde hair and green eyes, moving the hood over his head he waited for Pride to open the door to his freedom.

"First, you cannot be seen in the palace, and lastly, I don't think it would be wise for you to dig your way out," Pride walked up to another secret entrance way, lowering the lever a door opened to the outside, "here is another way to get to Pastoria City.

"Alright, the party can begin," Wrath celebrated, he pushed opened the door sending it flying towards the secret hallway, Pride watched with amusement seeing that Wrath was ready to fulfil his mission, Wrath ran towards the exit with Pride watching with a smirk.

Pride turned to Sloth who was sleeping on his watch, "Sloth, you can go now," Pride informed his subordinate.

Stretching out his arms, Sloth let out a loud yawn, "I will go after my nap," Sloth fell back to sleep.

"Alright, don't sleep for too long," Pride instructed his subordinate. Pride walked up the stairs knowing the time to start the plan had begun, "very soon, I will have the world in the palm of my hands," Pride told himself over and over again, getting more excited every time he said it, laughing in a crazed manner, he could barely contain his pleasure in destroying yet another kingdom.

**(Oreburgh City)**

Ash and Salvia walking into Orgburgh City, they had been walking for over three days, wondering what their new friends would be planning on doing next, "so Salvia, what is your intention?" Ash asked the blue haired royal. Salvia remained quiet refusing to make an answer, she looked at the sky and continued on without making an effort to answer, "Well?" Ash pressed the princess to reply.

"You know Ash, you should focus on what you are after," Salvia answered back, avoiding the question Ash presented her.

Ash and Salvia continued on quickly one of their allies falling to the ground, injured from a fight, "Greed!" Ash and Salvia called to the injured ally, they both ran up to him, he was on the ground as the rain started to fall.

Greed looked up and chuckled at his friends, "hi, sorry for taking so long," Greed winced in pain, as the two placed his arms around their shoulders.

"Why are you badly hurt?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord with a concerned expression.

"I got into a fight," Greed laughed at himself.

"You idiot, you weren't supposed to get into a fight, not without me," Ash snapped at the Shadow Lord who laughed even more.

"Ash, let's just get him to the hospital," Salvia suggested softly, helping out their ally as the rain continued to fall at a heavier rate.

"I am sorry to the both of you, but I have found out something horrible," Greed was about to tell them, he lost consciousness causing the two to look at one another, unsure as to what Greed was about to tell them.

Salvia looked away, and continued to walk on, with Greed's right arm around her shoulder, "so what do you think Ash?" the blue haired royal asked the trainer with a concerned mannerism.

"No idea, but if Greed says it is serious, then we have a problem," Ash replied, equally as puzzled as the princess, he looked at the unconscious Greed, knowing that he must have fought one of the Shadow Lords.

"Um, after we help Greed out, I will cook something," Salvia suggested, while helping Ash place Greed on the bed in the hospital.

Ash watched Salvia walking out of the room, wondering why she would offer to cook dinner, "the enemy is getting ready to make their move," Greed whispered to Ash, knowing full well that the princess wasn't in the room. Greed shot open his eyes and glanced to Ash, "you need to get stronger, the other Shadow Lords aren't push overs," Greed informed the Aura Guardian.

"You know, you better keep your mouth shut, the doctors will be here soon to help you out," Ash hushed the former enemy, he walked out of the room taking a deep breath, 'alright, I better get ready,' Ash thought exiting the hallway and into the main foyer of the Pokemon Centre.

Ash walked through the city on his own, thinking about what the injured Greed had told him, "so there are some that are way stronger than Lust and Envy," Ash whispered to himself, he looked up to see the mines of the city, "this place brings back memories," Ash shut his eyes for a moment thinking back to the time Dawn used her new moves in a battle against Team Rocket, something he even used himself in his rematch against Roark.

Ash walked down towards the mines and thought more about what Greed had told him, "to defeat the Shadow Lords, I need to train my aura more," Ash commented to himself not realising that someone was walking behind him, the princess who seemed to be growing more interested in Ash.

Salvia walked through the crowd her eyes glued on Ash, "just what is he planning on doing? I noticed him leaving the Pokemon Centre but why?" Salvia asked herself curious as to why Ash remained quiet about his intentions.

**(3 hours later)**

Ash had been in the mines training his aura for way too long, it was then his strength gave way and he collapsed from exhaustion, Salvia remained on the spot surprised to see Ash trying to get back to his feet, "he has been at it for nearly three and a half hours," Salvia reminded herself, but once Ash had collapsed once more she ran towards him and knelt down at his side, "alright Ash you need to stop," Salvia ordered Ash to end his training.

"But…..I-I am fine," an exhausted Aura Guardian tried to argue, but Salvia ignored him and grabbed his arm.

"I have watched you training with that aura, but you need to stop," Salvia informed the trainer, helping him back to the Pokemon Centre, "you know Ash, I haven't asked you this before," Salvia glanced over to the tiring trainer and smiled at him with a broad smile, but a sudden burst of sadness befell her, "what is your reason for fighting?" Salvia asked the trainer as she looked away half expecting a certain answer.

"I got my revenge for Dawn, mom, Johanna, Piplup and Pikachu, but for now, I have no reason to fight other than destroy the Shadow Lords," Ash answered the princess trying to keep himself awake long enough to get to the Pokemon Centre, "then let me ask you this, why are you willing to fight?" Ash asked but before he could get an answer Ash fell asleep while Salvia dragged him to the Pokemon Centre as she began to get really tired from helping Ash out.

"I am going to save my kingdom, that is what I am fighting for," Salvia answered Ash, but she knew that Ash wasn't going to hear her answer, the princess looked at the trainer and smiled, 'plus I am going to fight for someone Dawn gave her life to protect,' Salvia made her resolution as she entered the Pokemon Centre, showing her resolve to help Ash to a bed where he could rest for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash and Salvia finally catch up with the injured Greed and help him back to health, what will Greed tell them? And how will Ash and Salvia react to the plot? <strong>

**Next time: chapter 9: Traps in the shadows.**


	9. Traps in the Shadow

**Chapter 9: Traps in the Shadows**

_**Summary: **__The bait is set, what will Ash and Salvia do when they find out who exactly is in danger?_

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><p>Greed woke up with his right arm in a sling, 'man, this is stupid,' the furious Greed complained, he noticed that Ash and Salvia were nowhere to be seen and that there wasn't much to do, "I need to tell them, that there is a trap," Greed sat up and turned around, knowing what dangers would befall his two friends, getting out of bed he walked towards the door, opening it and was being greeted by a woman with long pink hair, in her nurse's uniform<p>

"No, I was give specific orders not to let you out," the woman told the Shadow Lord.

"But I need to tell my friends something important," Greed argued with a frown.

"Calm down, they will be back soon," the nurse informed the man, smiling at the man she tilted her head curiously.

Greed grew a little uneasy by the actions of the woman, "what?"

"You know, you are actually quite handsome," the Nurse told the Shadow Lord making him blush.

Greed turned around and walked back to his bed, scratching his shoulder length brown hair, "yeah, just don't get too attached," Greed replied, hiding his blush from the nurse, 'oh man, now I am exhibiting such a stupid action, damn you Ash and Salvia, what have you two done to me?" Greed started to complain about his softness towards everyone he has come across.

"My name is Melissa, nice to meet you," the nurse known as Melissa introduced herself to the Shadow Lord.

"My name is Greed, I am a Shadow Lord," Greed retorted with a frown, he glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the nurse who walked away from the room, 'must admit she is pretty cute,' Greed thought, walking back to the bed he stopped thinking about the nurse and the plot to kill the princess, 'great, I need to talk to my friends, but….." Greed stopped before he was about to remind himself of the nurse waiting at the counter and making sure that he didn't leave the room to get to them.

Meanwhile in the Pokemon Centre down the street Ash was eating one of the meals that Salvia had cooked, "still good," Ash complimented the young woman.

"You know Ash, a thank you would be nice," Salvia berated the trainer, trying to get him to act nicer, "there is one more thing Ash, since I met you, you haven't even smiled once, you have been all serious," Salvia started to point out some of Ash's colder characteristics, sitting in front of him while he continued to eat without saying a word, "well Ash, say something," Salvia tried to push the trainer into commenting.

Ash lowered the fork and looked up, he swallowed the food in his mouth, "mom always told me not to talk with my mouth full," Ash answered back, leaving the princess fuming at his response.

"Well then choke on the food," Salvia snapped back and walked away from Ash, leaving him in shock at her answer.

Ash looked at the food and sighed for a moment, 'her food is really good, it makes me wonder when she learned how to cook,' Ash wondered to himself, not daring to look at the princess who was clearly upset with him, 'I cannot smile, I just don't know how to be happy anymore,' Ash tried to answer Salvia's question, but couldn't say out loud himself.

Salvia stood outside the Pokemon Centre, her back to the wall wondering what she could do to make the trainer happy again, "I am trying, but no matter what I do, I cannot get him to change his attitude," Salvia slide down as she started to cry, 'Dawn, what should I do?' Salvia asked her friend.

Salvia looked up to see the spirit that had followed them all the way from Canalave City, "You again, who are you?" Salvia asked the spirit, but the moment she asked the apparition vanished yet again, Salvia shot up and walked over to the spot the spirit was standing on, 'why are you following us?' Salvia thought as she looked back to find that Ash was no longer sitting at the table, but walking towards the exit, 'Dawn, I don't want him being upset, so I will find the answer myself, I have a reason to fight,' Salvia resolved waiting for Ash to leave the medical facility.

"We are heading to the hospital, we need to talk to Greed," Ash informed the princess, passing her along the way.

"Alright Ash," Salvia replied timidly.

Ash walked through the town with Salvia following close behind, "why do you want me to open up?" he asked the blue haired royal.

Salvia glared at the trainer and shook her head, "don't worry about it Ash, you clearly aren't going to move forward, you are obviously to stuck in the idea of revenge," Salvia replied, crossing her arms and visibly angry at the raven haired man.

"Why are you upset with me?" Ash asked the princess, puzzled by her recent change in attitude towards him.

"Because it is clear you don't want to be happy!" Salvia yelled at the trainer.

"Who said I wanted to be happy princess?!" Ash snapped back, leaving the bluenette in shock with his question.

Salvia walked ahead of the trainer, visibly shaken up by his response, she looked over her shoulder with tears running down her face, "you know, Lady Dawn would be upset with the current you right about now, she wouldn't want you to be like this," Salvia reminded the young man, she turned around and walked towards the hospital, "she wouldn't want you to act in this manner," Salvia continued to remind her crush on what she knew about her best friend.

Ash froze, unable to walk, he clenched his fists angry that someone would be the one that was being reminded of Dawn's expectations, 'how would she know that?' Ash questioned the young royal's words towards him.

Meanwhile Salvia walked into the hospital heading towards the elevator in order to meet up with her friend, "why am I angry with him?" Salvia started to question herself about her reaction with Ash. Pressing the elevator button she waited for the door to open, thinking back to the days she and Dawn helped one another out.

**(Flashback)**

Salvia and Dawn walked through Arrowroot Town, talking about the time they exchanged places, "Lady Dawn," Salvia called for her look alike.

"Please just call me Dawn, these formalities are embarrassing me," Dawn scratched the back of her head.

"Alright Dawn, I will try," Salvia replied as the two friends walked through the town together, "what would you do if Ash lost himself?" Salvia asked her friend curiously.

"That's a tough one, I have never encountered a situation like that," Dawn informed her friend, trying to figure out what her friend meant by the question.

"Really, so with you that means he is truly happy," Salvia acknowledged her friend's place in Ash's life, the two walked on, wondering what they could get for lunch, "you know, I am really blessed to have you as a friend Dawn," Salvia confessed with a broad smile on her face.

"Alright Salvia, let me ask you, if Ash lost his happiness, what would you do?" Dawn asked her friend curiously.

"Me, why are you asking me that?" the princess asked her friend with surprise in her expression.

"No reason, I am just curious that's all," Dawn replied with a playful tone in her voice.

Salvia looked at the ground and started to laugh a little, "I would try to remind him, he is never alone or if he is really down, I would remind him that you would want him to be happy," Salvia answered her best friend.

"Oh come on, you talk as if something bad is going to happen to me," Dawn teased her friend.

"I don't think that anything bad will happen to you, you and Ash are inseparable," Salvia answered back with a proud expression.

"Well if something bad does happen," Dawn started as she placed her hands on her friend's shoulders, "I am glad you will be there when he needs it the most," Dawn reminded her friend, nodding at her.

"Now you are talking as if something is going to happen," Salvia remarked as the two friends started laughing at their own comments.

"Yeah what are the odds of something bad happening?" the two girls asked in unison, laughing at one another as the two walked towards the markets of the small town.

**(Return from Flashback)**

"What are the odds?" Salvia asked as she entered the elevator, she pressed the floor that Greed was on, "that was the last thing we asked one another, that was the last time I talked to Lady Dawn," Salvia told herself as she waited for the elevator to make it to the floor.

The elevator continued towards the next floor while the princess looked into the mirror, "you asked me once, if Ash lost his happiness, what would I do to help him?" Salvia asked herself as she stared at her mirror image, 'the truth is I have no idea Dawn,' Salvia confessed her own problems, "because he lost his true source of happiness," Salvia looked at her image, she was shocked to see the image wink at her. The princess rubbed her eyes wondering what she had seen, 'must be really tired,' Salvia thought as she turned away from the mirror.

The elevator stopped allowing the princess to walk out of the elevator, she looked around to see the nurse that promised to keep an eye on the Shadow Lord, "Greed, you were told not to leave the room, that is the fourth time today," Melissa berated the shadow Lord about his actions.

"But I need to talk to my friends, for five minutes," Greed responded but was stopped when he spotted the princess walking towards the room, "oh hi princess, so where is Ash?" Greed asked the young royal with an innocent expression.

"He will be here soon," Salvia replied as she walked into the room with Greed going back to bed.

"You know I hate being stuck in the hospital bed," Greed confessed, quickly getting a glimpse of the nurse.

"Yeah, but you would only hurt yourself more, you need to rest," Salvia informed the Shadow Lord, as she pulled out an apple from her bag.

"The hospital food, is crap and that nurse….she is a horrible person," Greed hesitated, waiting for the princess to peel the apple, "so what has Ash been doing, you don't seem your cheerful self," Greed pointed out with a concerned tone.

"Don't you worry about it, it is something I need to sort out on my own," Salvia replied with a sigh, she cut the apple up and put the pieces on a plate.

"Doing things on your own," Greed grabbed the plate and grabbed a wedge of Apple, "you know, I tried to fight Gluttony on my own, look what happened, I barely escaped with my life," Greed informed the princess of his own actions, "I was stupid, I wasn't only fighting someone strong, I was also drunk at the time," an angry Greed confessed his own foolishness, trying to eat another apple, "all I want is to enjoy the finer things in life, friends, food, wine and women, and I get is hurt for it," Greed started to beat himself up.

"Now Greed, I bet you had a good reason to fight," Salvia tried to assure her friend.

"Yeah, Hearthome City was being threatened, I couldn't let Gluttony destroy it," Greed replied angrily throwing the plate towards the wall at the other end of the room.

"You know Greed, we are very similar, we are trying to do things on our own, yet, we have both failed," Ash's voice rang in the room. The two turned to Ash he was standing at the doorway with the nurse standing behind him.

"Oh Greed what are we going to do with you?" Melissa asked her patient.

"Get out is the first thing, I need to talk to these two alone," Greed replied causing the nurse to visibly get upset with the Shadow Lord.

"You're a jerk Greed!" the pink haired nurse growled at the Shadow Lord.

"Greed that wasn't very nice," Salvia informed the former enemy.

"Well she is annoying me!" Greed snapped back after Ash closed the door, "plus….I don't want her to know…..what we are going to talk about," Greed started to hesitate, he looked over to the nurse whom had been helping him for the last few days.

"Alright Greed tell us, why are you this badly injured?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord coolly.

"No time for that, I caught the conversation between Gluttony and Pride, they intend to lure the princess into a trap," Greed explained the situation to the two friends.

"Why me?" Salvia gasped in horror.

"To finish you and your father," Ash answered.

"Correct, the trap will be in Pastoria City," Greed told Ash and Salvia, not noticing that the door was part way open.

"Again why did you tell Melissa to leave?" Salvia tried to change the subject, visibly shaking from the new information.

"Hey quit changing the subject," Greed snapped back at the young royal.

"But I am scared," Salvia confessed, not taking any note of Ash glancing at her.

"If you want to know, I don't want her involved in our battles, she is too nice, the world still needs people like," Greed answered the princess as best as he could.

"So Greed, you have a crush on Nurse Melissa," Salvia teased the Shadow Lord.

"No…..no I don't!" Greed denied the claims. But couldn't hide the redness of his cheeks. "Alright, just listen up, Salvia's dad is being used as bait to lure what they call the little mouse into a trap," Greed explained while the three people listened in.

"I another question, why do you hate the Shadow Lords so much?" Ash asked the former Shadow Lord.

"Again with changing the subject? Oh man, you two are driving me insane," Greed complained, he looked towards the door and smiled, "you can come in now, since you have heard basically everything," Greed informed the young woman who was standing outside the room.

"I am sorry Greed," Melissa apologised, bowing her head to the Shadow Lord.

"Alright, I will tell you a bit more about the Shadow Lords, we aren't immortal, as you two have found out at Lake Acuity," Greed stated while remembering the ambush against Lust and Envy.

"So you aren't immortal, yet there is something else," Melissa pointed out with a concerned tone.

"Exactly, you can call us transmigrants, which means we can restart our work, over and over again, but there is a limit, a time limit that is," Greed explained to the three people in attendance, "one hundred years, if we are killed, then our spirits are forced to wonder and wait for the next desired person to arrive," Greed explained with a frown, he took a deep breath and started to laugh.

"So that explains a little bit, but what about your real names?" Salvia asked in curiosity.

"I forgot mine that is yet another problem with the Shadow Lords, we forget everything about the people we take over and then we take on our normal personalities," Greed retorted with a grimace, he clenched his fists furiously knowing how much the real person was hurting, "and now for the past, why I hate the Shadow Lords," Greed started as he closed his eyes as tears started to run down his face.

**(400 years ago)**

A man wearing a silver set of armour, his long brown hair swayed in the breeze was walking down the road with another man, his clothing was blue and he had a wide brimmed hat, "you know Greed, you talk as if we Aura Guardians are all bad people," the man stated with a playful smirk.

"Yeah right, what about Xander, your order keeps saying all Shadow Lords are bad people, I mean look at yours truly," the silver wearing Greed pointed to himself as the continued on down the same road.

"Well that is true my friend, we really shouldn't be friends," Xander pointed out as the two started laughing, Greed pulled out a goblet and a small container of wine, "you know, I really shouldn't be drinking with you, what would the other Aura Guardians think?" Xander asked the Shadow Lord.

"Yeah, well the other six idiots I am fighting alongside, what if they find out?" Greed asked the Aura Guardian.

After the hours had passed, Greed spotted the city in ruins, the flames leaping from building to building, "what? No way, who is responsible?" Greed asked around he started running through the city looking around for his friend, "Xander, where are you?" Greed asked around for his friend. He continued to run until he spotted three shadows being illuminated by the flames.

"So, what do you think of our sneak attack?" asked a man with a proud smile directed at Xander, the man with short black hair, wearing red armour and showing his sinister black eyes approached the injured target.

"Envy, you bastard, these people are innocent," Xander berated the Shadow Lord, standing up with sword in hand.

"Oh dear me, you continue to fight knowing that your life is lost," Envy teased his foe, only to be met with Xander spitting on his face, "Gluttony, kill him," Envy ordered a much larger man to end the life of Xander.

"Envy!" Greed yelled out in anger, he tried to charge towards the his friend, but was met with an Aura Guardian who pushed his sword into the chest of Greed, "Envy, just you wait, I will…..make sure the Shadow Lords never rise again," Greed declared his intentions towards Envy, he started spitting out blood as the other Aura Guardians turned their attention to Envy and Gluttony after they had killed Xander, "and you Gluttony, I will destroy you as well, that is a promise," Greed promised his revenge on the Shadow Lords, passing away from the injury he had suffered at the hands of the Aura Guardians.

**(Present time)**

"Well that was the start of it, Envy and Gluttony did kill Xander, but sadly it wasn't over after that, a hundred years after that we were all killed by another group of Aura Guardians, then another hundred years after that the result was the same," Greed explained the following years after that.

"What about one hundred years ago?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

"Yeah did something happen?" Salvia asked Greed.

"Yeah, something did happen, isn't it funny how a Shadow Lord would even fall in love with an Aura Guardian?" Greed started to laugh at his own weakness again.

"What do you mean Greed?" Ash asked the dark haired Shadow Lord.

"She had long pink hair, strong green eyes and yet she wasn't just strong as a person, she was also really delicate, she hated being the damsel in distress, her name was Melissa," Greed stated with regret, "she was also the princess of Kanto, this time I managed to save her life, but at the cost of mine," Greed explained as he remembered the person who took his life, "Lust was the one that killed me at that time, then that was when it was decided, my spirit would not rest until the Shadow Lords were completely destroyed never to rise again and here I am, already two down," Greed finished his story much to the amazement of the two people.

"You know, my origins were from Kanto," Melissa confessed with a gulp, "you were talking about my great grandmother," Melissa pointed out as tears ran down her face.

"Yes I know, you look exactly like she did, in fact you remind me of her, both strong yet tender at the same time," Greed started to get upset, "the Shadow Lords were responsible for the what happened to the Aura Guardians, I am ashamed to have ever been a part of their genocide of the Aura Guardians," Greed explained to the three people who listened to his story.

"Wait, what do you mean by genocide?" Ash was quick to ask the next question.

"It was a trap, set up by Pride, in one night all but one Aura Guardian were all killed, that one Aura Guardian was the nurse's great grandmother," Greed explained to Ash who was shocked to have heard of the story behind the lost Aura Guardian.

"Yeah, but you know that I am an Aura Guardian as well," Ash replied calmly.

"True, but you would have to have had to have been chosen as Aura Guardian, or a family member would have to been an Aura Guardian in the past," Greed told Ash as the trainer sat down quietly trying to figure out who he was talking about.

"It wasn't on my mother's side, must be on my father's side, but I haven't seen him in years," Ash tried to talk about his family, but still knew very little about what was going on, "or I could have been chosen by someone called Sir Aaron, I have no clue," Ash tried to figure out why he was chosen as an Aura Guardian.

"So there is a very good chance that it wasn't from your family, it was simply the fact you were chosen," Salvia informed Ash, trying to help him figure it out, "okay Greed, you said my father is bait to lure me into a trap, what else do we need to know?" Salvia asked the injure man in the bed.

"They are most likely going to unleash Wrath," Greed sighed knowing that Ash and Salvia were going to head out to save the king, "the one thing you both need to know, before heading out, is that Wrath was the one who destroyed the Aura Guardians in one night, his strength is unrivalled, even Pride had to chain him up," Greed explained the power of Wrath.

Ash gulped thinking about how this fight could turn the tide in the fight against the Shadow Lords, "but defeating Wrath would help us out right?" Ash asked Greed who nodded in agreement.

"Physically Wrath is the strongest Shadow Lord, but he is also the dumbest, Pride has intelligence and physical strength at the same time, he plays the situation like a game of chess," Greed explained the traits of his former comrades.

"But what about Gluttony?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

"Gluttony will attack this city in a few weeks' time, to which I will be defending this city, You two will need to save the king, meaning you will need to fall for the trap," Greed explained the plan to Ash and Salvia.

"You will still be injured, you bastard," Ash retorted as the Shadow Lord started laughing.

"Well then, would you be able to help me out? All you need to do is use your aura abilities to heal my arm," Greed suggested the idea to Ash.

"No way, you will only get hurt again," Ash smirked at the new friend.

"I see you have a sense of humour that is just like Xander, joking about something like this injury I have suffered, " Greed replied as the trainer started to use his aura to help Greed with his recovery, "you know something? While I defend this city, I will be making sure the people evacuate as well," Greed promised the trainer who was continuing the healing process.

"Yeah, don't break your arms, because if you do, I will refuse to help you," Ash started laughing at the man.

"Gee thanks, you're a true friend," Greed stated with sarcasm.

The Nurse glanced at the two, "Greed you aren't stopping them?" she asked the Shadow Lord with a concerned tone.

"If I told them not to go, they still would, plus it is Salvia's father that is in danger as well as a city," Greed retorted as he felt his arm getting better due to Ash's aura. Greed looked up to Ash and nodded, "listen Ash, if things get too dangerous, take the princess away from the city," Greed instructed the Aura Guardian, as his concerns for the safety of the young royal started to become obvious, he then turned his attention to Melissa, "and you, with Gluttony coming here, it would be best for you to…..go somewhere safe," Greed ordered the young nurse,

"But what if you need help?" Melissa tried to argue with the Shadow Lord.

"No arguments, if the people are safe, then I don't have to hold back in the fight against Gluttony," Greed informed the pink haired nurse, he looked at the bandages and unwrapped his arm, he clenched his fist and smiled, "plus I can take care of myself, I am a Shadow Lord after all," Greed started laughing at his own position in the world.

"But Greed what if you're killed?" Salvia asked the Shadow Lord concerned about the wellbeing of her ally.

"Not a chance, I refuse to be killed off by the likes of that pig," Greed replied to the princess' worries, removing his cask, the Shadow Lord punched the air in front of him, "much better, you Aura Guardian amaze me to no end, it seems like I am fighting alongside one," Greed started complaining, taking a deep breath.

"Greed if it gets too dangerous, get out of there," Ash ordered the Shadow Lord, calmly.

"You know it's a trap and yet, you two will fall for the trap, man Ash you're a handful, that is just like Xander, he too would fall for a trap in order to save a stranger," Greed placed his left hand over his forehead, "just be careful alright," Greed showed more concern for the trainer and the princess. Greed watched Ash walking out of the room hoping that he had listened to him, 'Xander, I hope you are watching him, Sir Aaron, I know you will too,' Greed hoped to himself, preparing for his fight against the other Shadow Lord.

Ash and Salvia walked down the hallway towards the elevator, "so what next Ash?" the bluenette asked the young man, wondering what he was thinking about.

Ash looked back with a serious expression, he placed his hand over his chin, "before we head to Pastoria City, I want to head over to Twinleaf Town," Ash declared as the two made it to the elevator.

"But wouldn't digging up the past be painful?" the princess asked in a worried tone.

"Yes it would, but it might also help me at the same time," Ash replied while entering the elevator with Salvia.

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><p><strong>With Greed's history being told, it is time to rescue the Princess' father, but knowing that this next fight is a trap, what will Ash find in Twinleaf Town?<strong>

**Next time chapter 10: Reslove of a Princess.**

**alright I will make a confession, I have actually written a fair bit of the story already, the amount of chapters you guys are seeing is only half of what I have typed.**


	10. Resolution of a Princess

**Chapter 10: Resolution of a Princess**

_**Summary: **__returning to where Ash felt the most pain, he discovers something that will change him, Salvia soon makes another promise to herself, as well as meeting the Unova king and Queen all before heading to the next battle, with a new enemy surfacing._

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><p>Ash entered Sandgem Town having not been in the small town for some time, he was quick to notice the number of soldiers had dwindled down to a small number, but the air of unease was still in the atmosphere. Scanning the city he spotted Professor Rowan who was talking to a starting trainer, he seemed like he was getting ready to start his journey for the very first time, "you know princess, one day I would like to restart my journey," Ash said in a saddened tone.<p>

Salvia noticed the shift in Ash's personality, it was the first time he showed a hint of sadness and not his angry self, "you can do that now if you want to," Salvia was quick to suggest the intention of the trainer.

"No, not now, I need to deal with the Shadow Lords," Ash quietly answered back, turning away from the lab and heading out of the small town, almost as fast as he had entered it.

Salvia ran up to Ash who seemed like he was in a hurry, "so what are you going to achieve by coming to Twinleaf Town?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian with a puzzled expression.

"You need to know that Twinleaf Town was Dawn's home town, I want to see it again," Ash admitted to the princess, walking ahead of the young royal.

Salvia stood still, looking at the back of the trainer, "liar, you are living in the past," Salvia whispered inaudibly.

"What was that?" Ash asked the princess.

"Nothing Ash, let's go," Salvia lied to Ash, hiding what she already knew about his intentions, 'great now I am lying to him,' Salvia criticized her words, she walked up to Ash who stopped in front of a tree, "are you alright Ash?" Salvia asked the raven haired man.

"Here is where Dawn is, after she passed away from her injuries after saving my life, I buried her here," Ash informed the bluenette.

Ash walked a head hiding his tears, not noticing the princess walking up to the grave, she looked down and noticed that an item had been dug up, "hey Ash, what is this?" Salvia called to Ash.

Ash ran back towards the grave and looked down, in shock he spotted a golden ring, still intact and with the gems in place, "that's the engagement I gave Dawn," Ash stepped back in horror, trying to figure out what it meant, "she tried to give it back to me, I buried it with her," Ash fell to his knees, still in shock at what was going on, it seemed like no one was around to steal it.

"Maybe Ash, she still wants you to hold on to it," Salvia pointed out while staring at the ring.

"Leave it there, it still belongs to Dawn," Ash snapped back, placing his right hand over his head, 'Dawn, are you trying to tell me something?' Ash questioned the bluenette.

"Listen Ash, you need to know that Dawn might be feeling like she broke her promise to you, I think that black spirit is actually Dawn," Salvia theorised as she looked up to the scratching on the trunk of the tree, "maybe you are too busy keeping a promise that you cannot possibly keep," Salvia placed her hand on the names on the tree.

Ash took a deep breath and looked up to the bluenette who turned her attention to him, smiling at him, "why are you telling me this?" Ash asked as he spotted a spirit next to the princess, this time it was more obvious in who it was.

"Come Ash, you cannot expect to move forward if you stay the way you are," Salvia walked up to Ash, but was tripped on the way to the trainer, Salvia sat up and noticed the ring moving into her hand, 'Dawn, you want me to give it back to him, but why?' Salvia asked herself, trying to figure out what her friend was conveying, 'oh right, you cannot keep your promise but as for Ash…..' Salvia looked up to Ash and accepting the ring at the same time, 'you want him to be happy and not mopping about,' Salvia acknowledged her friend's choice.

"Come on princess, we need to get to Twinleaf Town," Ash started walking back to the town, ignoring the fact that Salvia had placed the ring in her pocket.

Salvia looked back to the tree and nodded, 'whatever it is Dawn, I will help Ash out, you have nothing to worry about,' Salvia promised her friend with a nod. Placing her hand over her pocket she rushed up to Ash who still had tears running down his face, 'one day, I will try to make you happy,' Salvia turned her attention to the road as they continued on, without looking back to the tree, 'but first I need to save my father,' Salvia promised herself as she walked up to the hill.

**(Orebugh City)**

Greed ran out of the hospital happy to escape, "alright, all that shitty hospital food, and that nurse all gone, now for the finer things in life, fine food, wine and women," Greed laughed out loud, he looked back to see the doors closing, but he also knew a more serious task was about to befall him, "I need to get ready, I am not going to be beaten by Gluttony again," Greed promised himself, he walked off, but soon stopped, "what are you doing here?" Greed asked the person.

"I signed off, my day's work is finished," Melissa replied with a gentle smile.

"Listen, if you stick with me, you will only get hurt, princess," Greed informed the nurse seriously.

"Why did you call me Princess?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

"That's is what you are, your great grandmother was a princess," Greed quickly answered the young woman.

"You told me to leave, because you didn't want me involved, why?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

Greed looked at the ground and started to laugh again, "because it is best that the other Shadow Lords don't find out, the Kanto Royal Family are supposed to be all dead, including you, for now, you need to stay as a nurse," the Shadow Lord informed the Kanto Princess of the situation.

"What are you after? You make the Shadow Lords out to be all evil and here you are being nice, you were betrayed and yet, you committed many crimes, well?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord, furious that he would keep it quiet from even his friends.

"Alright, I will answer it as best as possible," Greed submitted with a deep sigh, "I want the Shadow Lords destroyed once and for all, the world cannot go through their reign of terror, I want to repent from my sins by saving the people of this world from them," Greed told the nurse with a smile, he turned around and put his left hand on her head, "thank you for helping me out, I will repay you the best I can," Greed promised the woman with a nod.

"How about a date?" Melissa suggested with great hope.

Greed turned away from the young woman, he looked back and grinned at the nurse, "I think I will pass, maybe some other time," Greed refused the date offer from the nurse.

"Alright Greed, you behave yourself," Melissa watched the Shadow Lord walking away from the Hospital, 'he needs to open up, he really is a gentle person,' Melissa thought to herself as she turned back towards the hospital, 'I don't believe it, I thought I was an orphan, but my family line is a royal family,' Melissa remained perplexed by what she had learned.

Greed stopped and stared at the mountains, "redeeming myself from my sins?" Greed asked himself, taking a deep sigh, chuckling at his proclamation, "that would be easier said than done, but…..I will save this world and bring an end to the Shadow Lords," Greed promised himself, he looked back and watched the nurse who had helped him, "Envy and Lust, you're right I have gotten soft," Greed whispered to himself as he turned away and started to get to the city limits, he continued to walk but looking back once more, "but I prefer it that way."

**(Near Twinleaf Town)**

Salvia looked down at the destroyed town, trying her best to hold back her tears, "it hasn't even been repaired in how long?" Salvia asked the trainer, noticing his growing anger immediately.

"Three weeks," the raven haired Aura Guardian hissed in frustration, staying fixated on the destroyed town.

"If my father was his normal self, he wouldn't have abandoned this place," Salvia tried her best to keep Ash calm, but even she was getting visibly upset with the town that was completely blackened by the Shadow Lords.

Ash scanned the town, before he started walking towards the bleak sight, "you stay here," Ash ordered the princess.

"No," the princess quickly snapped back. Salvia put her hand on the pocket where the ring was, "I am going to make sure you don't do anything stupid," Salvia informed the trainer, but he continued walking towards the painful past.

After thirty minutes Ash walked through the streets with the Sinnoh Royal following him, the trees were completely flattened and the houses destroyed, "why hasn't the king done anything?" Ash whispered as he continued down the road, the cars which had crashed in the trees, remained in place.

Salvia looked on both sides of the street noticing that there was no one alive, "Ash," Salvia called to the man, but he remained quiet, "what happened here?" Salvia asked the trainer.

Ash lowered his vision and looked at the streets, "Envy and the Shadow Lords set up some explosives to set up the Unova forces, Greed tried to stop him, but it was too late," Ash answered solemnly.

"But don't you think there were more than just explosions Ash?" Salvia asked the man, she looked around to see more of the destruction, "like over there Ash," Salvia pointed to a part of the town which wasn't consistent with the explosions that destroyed a part of the town.

Ash ran to where Salvia was pointing, he looked around to see that someone had ran through the buildings with great momentum, "what is this? I never noticed this a few weeks ago," Ash asked as he walked closer to the building, he entered the building to find that everything was destroyed, "this wasn't random, no, this was deliberate," Ash spotted everything in the building destroyed or completely burnt.

"It seems like there was more than one Shadow Lord involved," Salvia called to Ash who was still inspecting the destruction inside the house.

Ash walked out wondering what had happened, "it seems like the only thing we do know is that this Shadow Lord, is that he has to remain moving," Ash placed his hand on his chin, looking at the other houses that had been decimated by this foe, "but why?" Ash asked as he glanced over to the royal who shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"Maybe this Shadow Lord has to remain moving or his heart will stop, don't think this sort of fury needs to keep moving no matter what?" Salvia questioned Ash who looked back at the house in shock.

"Wrath, was the one who did this, then that means the only way to defeat Wrath is to stop him from moving," Ash started to figure out how to defeat Wrath in a fight, Ash looked back at the house wondering what the plan was to be, "okay so we know Wrath's weakness, but there is still Sloth and Pride," Ash stated with a concerned tone.

"You have a plan?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian with a slight hint of optimism.

"Almost, but that doesn't explain why they attack Twinleaf Town," Ash retorted as he looked around with a frown.

Salvia glanced over her shoulder and noticed two people walking around the town, "hey is that?" Salvia started running towards the two people.

Ash remained standing thinking about the attack on Twinleaf Town, "it was too convenient to be random, explosives and now this, Just what are the Shadow Lords after?" Ash started asking himself as he watched his friend chasing after the two people, "the first hint might have come from what Greed told me about killing the king of Sinnoh, then there is the fact that the Shadow Lords destroyed their biggest rivals, the Aura Guardians, "but there is more, I can sense it, it is cold, dark in fact it is malicious," Ash whispered to himself.

"Hurry up Ash, Queen Hilda and Hilbert are here!" Salvia called to the Aura Guardian.

Shifting his attention to the top of the building Ash continued to scan the block for the mysterious presence, 'there is something else,' Ash thought, walking up to the Unova leaders.

"Yo Ash, it has been a short time," Hilbert smirked at his friend.

"Yeah, it has, we have been here for a little while, but I knew you would be here," Hilda said as her expression soon turned to concern, "you can sense it too, can't you?" Hilda asked Ash leaving the other two worried about her words.

"Yeah, I have felt a dark presence since arriving here, it isn't the Shadow Lords they are nowhere near this town," Ash commented as he looked over his left shoulder to find that no one was around. Ash walked passed the other three people and approached a house that, it was mostly destroyed, but there were some parts of the house intact, "this is Dawn's house," Ash reminded the three people behind him, he pushed the door open and noticed that everything inside was completely destroyed.

Salvia was quick to enter, she looked around and gasped in horror, part of the back of the house was gone, but with only parts of the stairway remaining with, Ash put his backpack on the floor and walking up to the unstable stairs, "stay here," Ash whispered, he placed his right hand on the stairs and started walking up the steps slowly.

"Wait Ash, you can't be serious, those stairs look like they could collapse at any time," Salvia warned the young man, but he ignored her and continued up.

"She's right Ash, the foundations of this building are almost none existent," Hilbert continued to warn Ash, but the Aura Guardian continued to ignore the concerned pleas of his friends.

"Wait, you two, he will be fine," Hilda stopped Salvia and Hilbert from warning Ash about the dangers, she watched her friend walking up the stairs carefully, she only grew concerned when his foot fell through the stairs, but that didn't stop Ash, 'he will find something important in Dawn's room,' Hilda said with a smile.

"So Queen Hilda, why did you and Hilbert go to Eterna City anyway?" Salvia asked the Unova natives.

"We were investigating something in Eterna City, you know the Shadow Lords were never alone, but then again Ash already knows this," Hilda answered the blue haired royal.

"That's right, we heard rumours in Unova about a secret trio, not like the Shadow Triad we have in Unova, but something much worse than that," Hilbert explained to the young royal, they looked up to find that Ash had finally reached the next floor, he walked around the corner and out of sight from his friends, "Ash is an Aura Guardian right?" Hilbert asked the bluenette calmly, Salvia nodded as she remembered the time she found out in Snowpoint City, "you see, our problem is that Ash isn't the only Aura Guardian in the world," Hilbert stated with his fists clenched in anger.

"Why is that a problem?" Salvia asked her friends.

"Because they are pure evil," Hilda replied with a saddened expression.

"There are five, Ash is one, the other one is in hiding and the other three, I am certain you can feel their presence now," Hilbert told the young royal, "Hilda can, but she is scared of them, so she refuses to tell how close they really are," Hilbert reminded the princess, as he glanced at his young wife who was shaking in fear.

Meanwhile upstairs Ash walked into Dawn's room, he looked around and noticed that part of her room was gone, he walked slowly towards her desk and noticed an envelope, he picked it up and opened it, "did Dawn write something?" Ash whispered, opening the envelope, he grabbed a chair and pulled out the paper inside, "is this her message?" He asked himself. Reading the letter with Dawn's voice echoing in his mind, the trainer read each line carefully.

**(Flashback)**

Ash and Dawn sat at the top of the hill, staring at the sunset together, with the bluenette resting her head on his left shoulder, "you know Ash, I have been waiting for this day for a very long time," Dawn felt Ash's arm wrapping around her, pulling her in closer, "I love you Ash," Dawn whispered as she felt the gentle breeze cause her hair to move back slightly.

"You know Dawn, we have been traveling for a while now, but we haven't planned for the future," Ash pointed out while the blue haired coordinator, quickly looked up towards Ash, "what?" Ash started to chuckle.

"A future ha, well, I would like to have a family with you, marry you and even own a nice home in another region," Dawn stated her interest in her future plans with Ash as her husband, "you know, my promise to you is to love you for eternity," Dawn promised Ash who strated blushing as the bluenette finished her speech.

"An eternity? That is a long time," Ash joked with his girlfriend.

"Come on, I just want you to be happy," Dawn replied with a cheery tone.

Ash stood up and watched the golden disc fall below the horizon, Dawn stood next to him and grabbed his left hand, their finger's entwined, the looked at one another lovingly, before they closed the gap, kissing one another with the fiery display behind them.

**(Return from the Flashback)**

"For eternity?" Ash asked himself as he continued to read the letter, "in this world or the next, I will always be by your side," the letter finished, Ash got up holding back his tears, placing the letter back in the envelope, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and walking back towards the stairs, he looked down to see that his friends were still there, "hey guys," Ash greeted the three people.

Ash walked down the stairs with the house beginning to shake as the foundations started to give way, "hurry up Ash," Salvia pleaded with Ash, she watched him running down the stairs and landing in front of the three royals.

The four people exited the house as fast as they could, Ash looked back to see the house collapse in a heap of wood and tiles, "so what did you find?" Hilbert asked the Aura Guardian.

"Hilbert, that is none of your business," Hilda snapped back with anger, Hilda approached the trainer and put her hands on her shoulder, "one day Ash you will find happiness again," Hilda assured her friend, but he ran off wiping away his tears.

"Hilda, you know he is in pain right?" Salvia asked the Queen, but she nodded, she looked back at her Sinnoh counterpart, "where will he find his happiness? Who will give it to him?" Salvia asked the Hilda, trying her best not to let her anger explode.

"Well, I can tell you, but I think it would be best to keep it a surprise," Hilda informed the princess, as she left to follow Ash.

Ash walked around the corner and stopped, he glanced around the corner as the same sensation was felt from a short distance away, "alright, you three, you can come out now," Ash growled at the three entities that were following him.

"Oh, it seems like this Aura Guardian is worth toying with," A man with short brown hair appeared from one of the streets, wearing a black shirt and Jeans with his Black trench coat.

"I was wondering how long it would have taken for you to make an appearance," Ash glared at the person, the person rushed towards him, readying his fist to punch Ash, Ash followed with his own Aura powered punch. The two fists made impact causing a powerful shockwave to destroy the rest of the standing buildings, they leapt back Ash in shock at what had happened, it was then he noticed Aura coming from the man's fist, "you, you're an Aura Guardian," Ash stated with surprise.

"Well done, you discovered my little secret, but I am not the only one," the Aura Guardian proclaimed as another man wearing the same attire but with red hair appeared from the building next to his comrade.

"Where is the third one?" Ash asked the person with anger.

"Calm down, she will be here soon," the man replied, as he noticed the other three people rushing up to Ash, "oh it's the princess of Sinnoh and the King and Queen of Unova," he calmly stated with a smirk.

"Who are you?" Ash snapped out his question.

"Me, I am Shade," the Aura Guardian known as Shade introduced himself to the four people in front of him.

"I am Hollow," the other person introduced himself to Ash and his friends.

A woman with long blue hair wearing a pink skirt and boots, a white tank top and black vest appeared from the trees, Ash stepped back in horror at what he was seeing, "what? She looks like Dawn," Ash whispered stepping back as the woman approached him.

"Dawn? No my name is Dusk," she introduced herself coldly, "but I must admit, you would make a valuable addition to our team," Dusk smirked at the trainer placing her hand on his face, trying to be gentle with him, she smiled at the man but she was pushed back by the princess, "who are you?" Dusk asked the princess.

"You look a lot like my best friend, but there is no way, you are anything like her," Salvia angrily decreed before pushing the Aura Guardian back, "never put your hands on Ash! That is not your right!" Salvia yelled angrily as she glared at the Aura Guardian.

"Dusk stand back, we aren't interested in an unimportant princess, the useless king and queen of Unova, we are here to formally inform the Aura Guardian, that we are here to destroy him," Shade started to laugh at his new enemy.

"Just who are you three?" Ash questioned the three Aura Guardians with his fist clenched tightly.

"We three are known as the Dark Aura Masters," Hollow informed the shocked people in front of him.

"We knew about you, we followed you and we are the ones who caused you to explode with anger, unleashing your power against Lust and Envy," Dusk confessed to the trainer as she turned her back towards the trainer, "as for your precious Dawn, well we needed a trigger, Envy played a part, but you were our target," Dusk enlightened the trainer of the events surrounding the death of Dawn and his family.

"Dusk, that is enough, he is already shattered enough as it is," Shade stopped his teammate, "as for the other Aura Guardian, she isn't worth the effort, but you on the other hand, you are much more interesting to toy with, meet us at Celestic Town, there we will talk more," Shade started taunting Ash who was still in shock at seeing another look alike, "maybe I might be able to divulge something really interesting," Shade promised the Aura Guardian before leaving with Hollow and Dusk.

Ash watched the three Dark Aura Masters walking away, his eyes still glued on the female member of the Dark Aura Masters, "there is no way, she looks like Dawn," Ash stepped back, trying his best to figure out what was happening, Ash lowered his vision, staring at his hands,, gulping, ignoring the people around him, "what am I going to do?" Ash asked himself.

Salvia raised her hand and slapped Ash across the face, Ash looked up and spotted Salvia who was in tears, "I will tell you what you are going to do!" Salvia yelled at Ash, she lowered her hand seeing the red mark on his face, "you are pick yourself up, you have been down on yourself for way too long, that isn't like the person Dawn loves, that isn't the person I admire, you are better than that!" Salvia trying to get Ash to pick himself up.

Hilda tried to approach Ash but was stopped by Hilbert, "no, he needs this," Hilbert stopped the brunette.

"But…" Ash tried to make a comeback but was stopped by the princess who was crying because of his sadness.

"No buts, you see someone that looks like Dawn and you fall apart, what about around me? I look like her," Salvia enquired as she pointed her finger at the trainer, she pulled out the ring from her pocket, "you see this?" Saliva asked the Aura Guardian, showing him the engagement ring he gave Dawn, "this ring landed in my hands, it flew into my hands, it is a sign from Dawn herself, she wants you to go forward," Salvia grabbed Ash's right hand and forced the ring into his hand.

"I broke my promise to her," Ash solemnly stated as he looked at the ring.

"You broke one promise, it was outside your control," Salvia argued back, removing her hand from Ash's. the princess turned away and started walking, "the past might hurt, but what hurts the most is living in the past, walk forwards with no regret, I know when I save my kingdom, whatever I do, I will do it with no regrets," A determined Salvia walked away from Ash who was in shock at the princess' speech.

Hilda approached Ash, he was looking at the ring, "are you alright?" Hilda asked the young man.

Again looking at the ring, he then turned his attention to Salvia, "yeah I am fine," Ash started laughing at himself, he placed his right hand over the part of his face that was still tingling from the slap he was given, "I needed that, never expected it to come from her," Ash scratched the back of his head embarrassedly smiling at the princess.

"But what about the other Aura Guardian?" Hilbert asked his friend quickly.

"Salvia!" Ash called to the princess, "thanks for slapping some sense into me," Ash thanked the young royal, putting the ring back into his pocket, he looked at his other friends, "we are heading back to Oreburgh City, we aren't going to fall for that trap, but we will save the King," Ash decreed as Salvia turned her attention to Ash, feeling surprised by the Aura Guardian's declaration.

"Thank you Ash," Salvia whispered, knowing that part of the real Ash was back.

'Even though, we still have a long way to go, I am not throwing anything to the wayside,' Ash promised himself, walking slowly towards the princess with the other two royals following close behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>With the Dark Aura Masters now coming into play, Ash will try to change the conditions the battle against the Shadow Lords. <strong>

**Next time Chapter 11: Greed VS Gluttony 2: intervention**

**This chapter also introduced the Anti-Hero of the story, have a guess at who it is, the hint is that it is one of the three Dark Aura Masters, I think it should be pretty obvious too.**

**please review and tell me what you think, there is really one more introduction to a villain, but that will happen in another 12 chapters from now**


	11. Greed VS Gluttony 2: Intervention

**Chapter 11: Greed VS Gluttony 2: intervention.**

_**Summary: **__Greed does battle against Gluttony, this time there is a battle to protect someone who he seems to have grown fond of, but as things start to go badly for Greed, reinforcements arrive to turn the course of the battle, but will it be enough? All the while a chance meeting is about to take place._

* * *

><p>Dusk walked back towards Sandgem Town, thinking about the orders of her friends, "why am I the one to follow this order? Couldn't those two fulfil the task themselves?" Dusk whispered the question, wondering what she has to do with Ash and Salvia, 'who am I? why do I feel like I know those three?' Dusk asked herself as she continued on, she looked at her hands and wondered what was next for her, "I have hurt innocent people, even killed them, all in the name of the Dark Aura Masters, yet when Ash saw me, he spotted a different person, he saw me as this woman named Dawn," Dusk told herself as the words of Ash started to ring in her mind.<p>

**(Flashback)**

"You know Dusk, you need to get the aura of your counterpart," Shade instructed the female Dark Aura Master, he glanced over to Hollow and winked at him.

"Why do I need to get it?" Dusk asked her teammate with a serious expression.

"Come on Dusk we have been working together since we found you, we have helped you out, but all we want in return is for you to return the favour," Hollow informed his ally with his hands on her shoulder.

"I doubt that," Dusk retorted with a frown.

Shade walked up to Dusk and turned her towards the city, "you know, we did promise to answer your questions, heck we even gave you a name, since you don't remember your original name," Shade informed the young woman.

"You also promised to answer my questions when the time is right," Dusk tried to get her teammate to answer her questions.

"Not yet, the time isn't right, first you need to follow our mission, then by the end we will tell you everything," Shade assured the young woman.

**(Away from Flashback)**

On the road heading towards Oreburgh City, the Dark Aura Masters were heading towards the major city in hopes of making sure that they helped in the destruction of the city and the Shadow Lord Greed, "Shade, are you sure that we can use her anymore?" Hollow asked his friend calmly. Shade looked back at his ally and nodded.

"Like I care, she is only useful to us, because the Aura Guardian sees her as a different person, by taking the remnants of his lost love's aura, we can kill two birds with one stone," Shade turned towards the city, he walked towards the city looking around as the people looked at them strangely, 'these people don't know what will befall them,' Shade thought to himself as he did his best to find Greed.

"Shade, what will happen with the Aura Guardian?" Hollow asked his comrade quickly.

"I am not worried about him, he made his weakness very clear when we met him, using Dusk to exploit those weaknesses will get rid of both problems," Shade answered back as he looked over to find Ash walking with the princess and the royal family of the Unova Region, "but as for now, we let the Shadow Lords toy with them, we head to Celestic Town," he told his teammate with a smirk.

Ash continued down the road leading to Oreburgh City, with his thoughts on the woman he met in Twinleaf Town, 'she look like her, but she is nothing like her,' Ash thought, trying to think about the reasons why this was the case.

Salvia walked up to Ash's side and tilted her head, "you know, you shouldn't worry too much about the appearance of one person, she looks like Dawn, but she obviously isn't," Salvia assured the Aura Guardian, placing her hands behind her head, she looked up to the sky and smiled, "I can still see it in your eyes, you still seek revenge," Salvia informed the trainer much to his surprise.

"Since when can you start reading me like a book?" Ash asked the young royal, the question upset the princess walked ahead of the other three.

Hilbert walked up to Ash and shook his head in shame, "smooth Ash, real smooth, she is really concerned about you and all you can do is push her away," Hilbert stated as he looked towards the princess, "you need to let people in your space, what happened weeks ago will be tough to accept for a while, but you cannot keep pushing people away, that is how you lose yourself and your friends, right now she is the best friend you have," Hilbert explained to Ash about his current situation.

"Maybe I don't want people to get too close to me," Ash snapped back at the king of Unova.

"Oh right, so when all those people close to you try to help you, you are going to come up with that, let me guess, you are blaming yourself for what happened, considering that it was outside your control," Hilbert told Ash, but the trainer turned around and grabbed him by the collar, "what are you going to do? Punch me?!" Hilbert asked the trainer who let go of his collar.

"You have no idea, I lost the people closest to me and here you are telling me to open up!" Ash yelled at the Unova Royal, Salvia ran up to Ash and grabbed his left arm to prevent him from completing the action he was about to do, with Hilda preventing the enraged trainer from starting a fight with her husband.

"Stop it Ash," Hilda instructed the raven haired trainer.

"Yes, don't do something that you will regret later," Salvia pleaded with Ash, she moved her hand slowly towards his and gently made him let go of the collar, Hilbert shrugged off the dust from his shirt and placed his right hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Listen Ash, you cannot afford to lose your cool when someone tells you as it is, that is what will get you into trouble," Hilbert stated while walking ahead, he looked back and smiled at the Aura Guardian, "since I am not in Sinnoh as the king of Unova, but here to help rid the world of the Shadow Lords, I will let this slide, but pull that stunt again, I will hurt you," Hilbert threatened Ash with a playful smile.

**(Oreburgh City)**

Greed looked around the city making sure that everything was going to be fine, he was alone in the sprawling city, he looked around to find that the people were doing their shopping, or even spending time with their families, Greed looked up and spotted the clouds heading towards the mountains that dominated the region, "it seems like there is a storm brewing," Greed thought out loud.

"I have been here for over a week and still nothing, but the peace will soon be shatter, I need to be ready," Greed reminded himself, he looked up to the sky to see the regional flying pokemon flying in formation.

"Greed, why are you alone?!" Melissa asked her crush.

"Oh great, I am being followed again," Greed sighed with disdain, he looked back and frowned at the woman, "what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to get ready to leave this city in case my former comrades showed themselves," Greed stated the problem to the nurse.

"You know better than anyone that my job is to make sure the people are alright, if they get hurt then it is my responsibility to help them out," Melissa argued with the Shadow Lord.

"Fine, then I will make sure no one gets in your way of helping the people out," Greed walked off towards the northern limits of the city, 'I can sense it, there is a heavy feeling in the air,' Greed thought, the wind started to pick up blowing off the hood covering his head. The shadow Lord looked back to see that Melissa wasn't walking through the streets and was at the entrance of the hospital, 'she is too kind, but she is right she needs to make sure the people are alright,' Greed thought to himself as he turned to walk back into the large city.

At the mountain entrance east of the city a large man walked out of the cave and looked down at the city, "now it is time to hunt down Greed," Gluttony glared at the city, he started his approach of the city and with a broad grin he started to get even more excited about fighting Greed once more, "oh this fight will be fun," Gluttony started cheering.

Greed looked back to see Gluttony in the distance, "not now," Greed started running to the hospital, he entered quickly to find the Kanto Princess, "hey have you seen Melissa?" Greed asked the attendant at the counter.

"Yes she checked in moments ago, she will be helping a patient out soon," the woman said with a proud smile.

"Alright, get as many people out of here as soon as possible," Greed instructed the attendant.

Before the woman could respond loud screams were heard in the distance, people started a panicked charge towards the western side of the city, "just get the patients out of here," Greed ordered the woman in a hurried tone, he rushed out to see where the commotion had started from, he scanned the area and found nothing of concern, but the people were still running away from something.

"Greed!" a chilling voice rang out through the air.

Greed looked up to see Gluttony approaching him, Greed jumped back avoiding the attack from the enemy, "oh great you came here sooner than expected," Greed hissed, frustrated that he wasn't able to escape from his former comrade, "so Gluttony, how much did you eat this time?" Greed asked the Shadow Lord with a calm smirk.

"Lots of food," Gluttony replied with a smirk, hitting his stomach with great pride.

"I see, so it will be easier for me to make you suffer from indigestion," Greed joked with his former ally, he rushed towards the larger enemy and punched him in the stomach, but Gluttony didn't flinch, he looked down at Greed and with a dark smile, used his large arms to start his attack, Greed jumped back to avoid the attack, "not only did you eat so much food, it slowed you down," Greed whispered.

"I am still stronger than you," Gluttony informed his quarrel.

"Dammit he is right," Greed admitted with a look of displeasure.

Greed looked around hoping that there was a safe spot for the him to flight Gluttony, 'if I can get him out of the city, the people will be safe,' Greed thought to himself as he ran towards the Shadow Lord, he started punching the much larger enemy towards the eastern end of the city, but with one swing of Gluttony's right arm he was sent flying towards the building.

"You aren't going to get away that easily," Gluttony decreed while running towards his foe,

"Who said anything about getting away?" Greed sneered at the Shadow Lord, he fell to the ground and looked up, he started to chuckle at the foe, "you really aren't that bright," Greed started charging towards the enemy, he started pushing the enemy, but it felt like he was pushing an immense weight.

"I will not move that easily," Gluttony taunted the former ally. But as he was about to make his attack, he felt Greed kicking him, he staggered back, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Shaodw Lord from being phased by the sudden attack from Greed, "is that it?" the larger fighter asked his enemy, laughing at him.

"No, there is plenty more, you stupid blimp," Greed retorted, he rushed at the foe preparing to punch him, unleashing an unrelenting flurry of punches and a few picks thrown in the mix Greed managed to push Gluttony away from the panicking crowd, he looked back to see Melissa attending to the injured people, "hurry get them out of here, I can only hold him off for a short time!" Greed yelled out.

"Oh a tasty morsel," Gluttony bypassed the former ally making his way to an unaware nurse,

"Not a chance!" Greed yelled out to his enemy, he rushed towards him and tripped him up, preventing him from, "Melissa get away from here now!" Greed yelled his instructions out to the nurse.

Meanwhile Ash entered the city seeing that dust was picking up in the middle of the city, "what's happening?" Ash snapped out his question.

"There is a fight happening, it seems like Greed is fighting another one of him," Hilda answered the trainer, she looked around to find the people running around.

"Right, you lot stay here and help the people, I am going to assist Greed," Ash announced his plan.

Salvia took a deep breath and looked away, "be careful," Salvia requested.

"I will," Ash promised, he ran off leaving the other three behind, he ran into the city to help his friend out in the fight.

Shade stop at the top of a building watching Greed struggle in his fight against Gluttony, he turned to the westered part of the city and spotted Ash, a broad smirk crossed his face, "now the true game begins," Shade whispered as he became more amused at the panicking people as well as the Shadow Lords destroying parts of the city.

"So the Aura Guardian finally showed himself," Hollow remarked as his ally sat down to watch the battle against Gluttony.

"Yes, things are about to get interesting, let's see how our enemy handles himself in this fight," Shade kept his gaze firmly on Ash.

Ash kept running until he was stopped by Greed who landed in front of him, Ash knelt down to help Greed back to his feet, "so who are we up against?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord.

Ash looked up to see a much larger man, "well, there you have it, Gluttony," Greed answered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Alright so how do we deal with him?" Ash asked in shock.

Greed looked around to find that more people were still hanging around in the city, "well we need to either get the people out, or move him away from the city, your choice," Greed answered as he glared at the foe, cracking his knuckles to prepare for the fight, "be careful, this guy is deceptively strong, he defeated me in Hearthome City," Greed pointed out with a frown, thinking about his battle against Gluttony in the other city.

Ash started to glow blue, glaring at Gluttony who was laughing at the trainer, "this game ends now," Ash growled at his foe. He ran towards the larger foe with balls of aura forming in his hands, he pushed the balls of aura in to the body of Gluttony, causing him to be sent flying towards one of the buildings, "ha too easy," Ash smirked at the enemy as the building started to crumble around him.

"It's not over yet, he wouldn't fall that easily," Greed stated while looking around to see more people running away from the fight.

"That was a good warm up," Gluttony stated as he exploded out of the rubble, much to the dismay of the Aura Guardian, "now for the main course," Gluttony charged towards Ash who was caught off guard. Ash leapt back avoiding a lariat from Gluttony, "I am nowhere near as weak as the other two," Gluttony taunted the trainer as he continued on with the attacks.

"I need an opening to attack," Ash whispered to himself, he jumped back once again avoiding Gluttony's slam on the ground. Ash placed his hand on the pokeball, shaking at what he might have needed to do next.

"Do what you need to do now!" Greed tackled his enemy away from Ash.

"I cannot do it," Ash whispered as he removed his hand from the red and white device.

**(Jubilife City)**

Dusk looked back seeing the smoke rising in the distance, remaining calm knowing what was going on, "I was wondering how long it would have taken to start the fight, Shade and Hollow are there as well," Dusk whispered, her eyes glued to the column of smoke.

"What's going on in Oreburgh City?" one of the citizens of the city asked in shock.

Dusk returned to her mission, she had a grin on her face, feeling the adrenalin of the fight all the way from where she was, "that Aura Guardian is there too," she whispered to herself as she continued throw the city, not wanting to waste any more time with watching the battle from the distance, "I don't have the time, I need to hurry," the bluenette reminded herself.

"Ash, there is something familiar about you, but I don't know what it is," Dusk started to tell herself as she thought about her first meeting with the trainer, 'then there is the princess, why do I feel like I know them from somewhere, yet my memories are non-existent," Dusk told herself as she, slowing the pace her advance towards the next town.

Glancing over her right shoulder one more time she kept her attention on the column of smoke, "I will be there soon to shake things up a little," Dusk promised herself, walking quickly towards Sandgem Town.

**(Oreburgh City)**

Ash and Greed glared at the Shadow Lord, he was laughing at them, mocking them for not being as strong as he had hoped, "an Aura Guardian and a traitor, I have been waiting to defeat the last Aura Guardian and you Greed," Gluttony confessed his interest in destroying them, he charged towards the two men and threw another powerful punch at the trainer.

"Oh man, he is fast," Ash whispered, he jumped back and held his ground again, he started to glow blue as he started to charge up his aura for a counter attack, 'if I use too much aura I will not be able to use it for a few days,' Ash thought as he started to assess the situation which was getting worse for him, "I have no choice," Ash muttered to himself, he rushed at the larger enemy with two balls of aura in each hand.

Greed watched the Aura Guardian pushing back the former ally of his, "he is using too much Aura, if he keeps this up, he might not be able to use Aura for a few days," Greed watched in shock as Gluttony was hit by a few punches encased in the blue Aura.

Sitting down at the top of one of the buildings, Shade was enjoying the fight, "oh so he plans to risk it all for one win, this is going to get interesting," Shade whispered at the show he was watching.

"What if he wins this fight?" Hollow asked his teammate with a concerned tone.

"No, I don't want this game to end too early, plus, we have a certain issue we need to deal with," Shade informed the other Dark Aura Master of his intentions, Hollow looked at the friend with a concerned expression, "that's right Hollow, our beautiful little pawn will be joining the fray soon enough," Shade started laughing as he knew about the growing situation with Dusk, "she still thinks we will be giving her an answer to her questions, too bad for her we have no intentions of giving them to her, plus we also have another little piece of the puzzle," Shade explained the plan to Hollow as he looked down to see the princess at the tent city with the people still shocked at the battle to save the city.

**(Near Sandgem Town) **

"So this is where you're buried," Dusk stared at the ground, thinking about her meeting with Ash, "you threw away everything for him, but the truth is," Dusk sighed heavily.

The wind started to pick up, causing the tree to sway and the leaves to pick up blowing around, as the leaves dropped an image of a person appeared in front of Dusk, with long blue hair and in her pink skirt, boots, with a white tank top and black vest, "hello Dusk, it is so nice to meet my darker side," the woman called to her counterpart.

"Darker side, then you must be Dawn," Dusk hissed at the spirit of the young woman.

Dawn tilted her head as she smiled at the Dark Aura Master, "I see you are wondering why I sacrificed myself to save Ash, do you know why I did it?" Dawn asked the doppelganger, who was growing impatient with the spirit.

"Then tell me already," Dusk growled at the ghost of Dawn.

"I saved Ash, because I love him," the gentle spirit replied with a warm smile, "I was thinking at one stage to give you my will, but someone else is far more deserving of that," Dawn knelt down in hopes that the ring was gone, "you know, all I want is Ash to move forward with his life, to be happy," Dawn confessed as the Dark Aura Master listened to the coordinator's words.

"The princess, who looks like the both of use, she is too soft," Dusk reminded the ghost with a smirk.

Dawn turned to the other bluenette and smiled, "no she is strong, but she has a lot of issues to deal with," Dawn reminded the blue haired aura master of the resolve of the young royal, "right now she is tending to the people whom she will one day protect as queen of this region," Dawn stated with a proud smile as she looked down at the wilting wreath at the base of the tree.

**(Near Oreburgh City)**

Salvia stood out of her tent waiting for the fight to come to an end, the princess gulped in the hope that Ash will make his return, "hey princess, we need your help, this person has a broken leg," Melissa called to the young royal from the tent.

"Right, I am on my way," Salvia responded with a nod, she entered the tent where the person was crying in pain.

"Help, my son, he is still in the city!" one of the people started to panic about the loss of their child.

Salvia jolted into action and headed out to find the child, "Melissa, I am going to find the child, Hilda and Hilbert you help Melissa out," Salvia instructed her two friends as she ran off towards the dangerous scenes in the city.

"Princess Salvia, be careful!" Hilda called out to her friend as she entered the tent to help out the injured.

Shade watched as the young royal entered the city, on her own and in search for the lost child, "either way this could get much more interesting," laughed the Dark Aura Master, watching the unsuspecting royal, seeing her running towards the battle to find the lost child, "I can sense it, she is looking for a lost child," Shade continued to laugh as the battle continued on a mere hundred metres away from her current location.

Ash continued to pummel the larger enemy with his punches, but tried to show no signs of relenting, "oh man, he is just taking my hits, what's going on?" Ash asked in frustration, seeing that Greed was getting ready to call out his pokemon.

"This isn't going to be as easy as the first two," Greed stood next to Ash.

"Yeah, I can see that, but what is this guy?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord standing next to him.

"He is one of the three most powerful Shadow Lords, even I am a low ranked Shadow Lord," Greed informed the trainer with a concerned tone.

"What? You never told me you had ranks!" Ash snapped at his ally in anger, feeling like he was never told of the system the Shadow Lords were using.

"You never asked," Greed retorted as he watched Gluttony vanish from the battlefield, "damn it, he has left the battlefield, we better find him and fast," Greed ran off to find his former ally, leaving Ash perplexed by friend's comments.

"The Shadow Lords, who are they?" Ash asked himself as he grew more doubtful in the abilities of Greed, "he said that Gluttony was the third strongest member of the Shadow Lords, so what does that mean about Wrath and Pride?" Ash asked himself, looking around for the enemy that had almost forced him to use up all his aura, 'damn, I am almost out of aura as well,' Ash started to complain about the situation he was in.

"I see, she he has almost overused his aura," Shade whispered curious as to how this battle was going to go.

**(Near Sandgem Town)**

"Why are you still here?" Dusk asked the ghost of Dawn with a frown, "you should have crossed over, and yet, you cling to this world, in hopes of achieving something," Dusk stated while the ghost looked away with a hint of guilt.

"You're right, I should be crossing over, but something is preventing me from doing exactly that," Dawn's ghost stated with a saddened expression.

"Unfinished business," Dusk looked away with disdain, "why?" she asked the bluenette as she glared at the spirit.

* * *

><p><strong>Next time Chapter 12: Morning and Evening<strong>

**Dusk and Dawn have started their conversations, but the battle to save the world continues on, what will Dusk discover about her role in this battle? **


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